Revenge is a Dish
by Webdog177
Summary: When Sachiko and Rei start to ignore their petite soeurs, Yumi and Yoshino decide to come up with a plan to get a little revenge on the two roses. But sometimes, what starts as a little revenge turns out to be quite different... *Rated M for MariMite Awesomeness*
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Marimite =.= Mores' the shame, eh?

A/N: This is something I thought up while at a wedding. Don't ask =.= Anyway, I _sincerely _apologize if some characters seem OOC, it is not my intention! If you find something off about the canon or any chars, lemme know ;~) I love any and all kind of criticism (except that which makes me cry T.T)

On with the show!

**Revenge is a Dish...**

**Chapter 1**

0 – 0 – 0

"Arg! I can't stand it!" seethed Yoshino Shimazu, who was barely containing herself at her desk as she trembled in anger. "Why she always like that? Why is she so - Baka?! Baka baka baka baka!"

Yumi Fukuzawa, who had been invited to eat lunch with her friend, sat back in her chair, wide-eyed at the girl's sudden tantrum.

"Ah…." Her voice leaked out, not quite sure how to sooth Yoshino when she was like this. _Rosa Foetida en bouton_ had her periodic mood swings, Yumi knew. And when she was like this, it was usually better to just nod and agree with her. Most of the time, the culprit was Yoshino's _grande soeur_, Rei Hasekura. While the two girls had a very close relationship (aside from being _soeurs_, they were also neighbors and cousins), they also occasionally had their little spats. Rei, as most people were aware of, had her own way of dealing with the fights; generally by being quiet and going about her own business.

Yoshino, on the other hand, did not.

"Gah!" She yelled out suddenly, slapping her hands on the hard wood of her desk. The loud crack of skin on wood caused Yumi to sit up straight in her seat. "I tell you, I can't stand it!" Yoshino hissed and clenched her hands together into tight balls of fury. Yumi sighed inwardly. She may as well ask, or Yoshino would eventually keep yelling until she did.

"What did _Rosa Foetida_ do, Yoshino-san?" The girl asked, moving bits of her lunch around with her chopsticks absentmindedly.

"Oh, I'll tell you what Rei-chan did…" Yoshino practically growled, her eyes narrowing to slits. She was so mad, she completely skipped calling Rei _Onee-sama_. "She was supposed to come and wake up me for school today, like she does every day. But no! She didn't! But not only that, oh hoh no! She also had the _gall_ to wait for me outside the house and scold me for being late! I almost didn't make it to class on time today!" She finished and, taking a deep, controlled breath, she helped herself to a large helping of rice from her lunch.

Yumi's mouth twitched upwards. It was pretty much along the lines of what she thought had occurred. It was never anything really big, to her mind, but Yoshino and Rei always had a tendency to blow small things out of proportion.

_Well_, thought Yumi as she took a bite of egg, _maybe small things to others are just larger to them_.

First, there was the famous "Yellow Rose Revolution" that had happened soon after Yumi had become acquainted to the _Yamiyurikai_ by becoming _soeurs _with the then _Rosa Chinensis en bouton,_ Sachiko Ogasawara. Yoshi had done the all-but-unheard of action of returning the rosary that her _grande soeur _, Rei, had given her. It was shocking, and had a huge effect on a number of girls in the school for the following days. But, apparently, the whole situation that had led up to that affair had been quite long-standing. It had all stemmed from how the two girls treated each other, and what they really wanted out of their _soeur_ relationship.

After that, things had calmed down (at least, as far as Yumi could tell), and only rose to smallish spats between the two girls. Yoshino, with her _first strike, certain victory_ attitude and Rei, with her favorite phrase being _sincerity_, commonly came at odds with each other. Yumi was actually pretty shocked that, with her having a younger brother as first-hand sibling experience, they didn't have their little fights more often. The two yellow rose sisters were usually alright, but there was the occasional time (as was the case right now) that the two cousins and _soeurs_ didn't quite see eye-to-eye.

"I mean, _honestly!_" Yoshino continued her tirade, setting her chopsticks down perhaps harder than she had intended. "If she wants to be like that, then _fine!_ I hope she enjoys walking to and from school alone from now on!"

"Now, now, Yoshino-san…" Yumi smiled and wiped her mouth with a napkin. "Surely it's not that bad, right? I mean, you two have always been together. I'm sure you and Rei-sama will be fine before you know it."

"Tch!" Yoshino made a frustrated noise and turned her face away from Yumi, her long braids whipping around with the action. "Yea, right. It would be alright if that was the only problem. Rei-chan also has been too busy to hang out with me recently. She's got club activities… her parents get her to help them out more often… she is taking extra classes in the evenings…"

Yumi tilted her head to one side. "Extra classes? Like, extra-curricular? What is she studying?"

Yoshino's eyes widened and her nostrils flared. "I don't know!" She screeched. The few other students in the classroom who had stayed through Yoshino's rant were all paying attention now, their food all but forgotten. "If she would take the time to tell me, I would feel a little better!"

"Alright, alright…" Yumi soothed, while at the same time throwing an apologetic look to the other students in the room. "Take it easy… I understand…"

Yoshino seemed to pick up on the atmosphere and settled back into her seat, once again picking up her chopsticks.

"Whatever…" She said, picking through her lunch. "At least you are all peaches and cream with your _Onee-sama, Rosa Chinensis_, right?"

Yumi's hand froze as it carried an egg to her waiting mouth. _Onee-sama_… the word struck closer to home than she really would have liked. Sachiko Ogasawara and Yumi were just peaches and cream… right? Weren't they? Sure things have been… well… _weird_ lately… but… things where alright.

They had to be.

Yoshino's eyebrow raised slightly at Yumi's frozen hand. The egg had dropped unnoticed back into her lunch. "Uh… Yumi-san?" She snapped her fingers. "Hello? You alright in there?"

Yumi blinked, shook her head, and smiled. "Ah… yes. I'm fine. We are fine. That is to say… _Onee-sama_ and I are…" She fumbled with her chopstick and dropped the same egg again. "We are… fine…"

Her friend eyed her for a long moment, clearly not fooled. Yumi Fukuzawa, as the entire student body and most of the faculty of Lillian Academy for Women knew, was a horrible liar. As the previous _Rosa_ _Gigantea, _Sei Satou, had said, her face constantly looks as though it goes through life's many phases. Essentially, that meant that her face betrayed what she was thinking at all times. It was painfully easy to tell what Yumi was thinking most of the time, and even easier to tell when the girl was lying.

And she was most certainly lying this time.

"Spill it, girl." Yoshino sighed, pointing her chopsticks at Yumi. "What's the problem in the garden of _Rosa Chinensis en bouton_?"

Yumi's shoulders fell, defeated. Yoshino, as her best friend, had the mystical power to know exactly what she felt at all times. She wasn't exactly sure when Yoshino had attained this ability… but she still had it. Sometimes, it was a heavy burden than she wouldn't wish on anyone.

"We… that is to say… _Onee-sama_ and I… we haven't really seen much of each other the past few weeks." Yumi said quietly, staring at the piece of egg that refused to jump into her mouth. "For a while now… it seems she is too busy to spend much time with me. We see each other at the Rose Mansion, of course. And during _Yamayurikai_ meetings we see each other… but…" She shrugged, barely keeping her smile from slipping. "She is too busy to spend much free time with me…"

"It's the same with me and Rei-chan!" Yoshino jumped up and pointed directly at Yumi, who stiffened in surprise. "Gah! What is with our _Onee-samas _ignoring us?"

Yumi shrugged and, concentrating harder this time, succeeded in picking up the egg that had fallen before. "I don't know, Yoshino-san…" She sighed, popping the egg into her mouth.

It was a surprise at first. After the wonderful vacation she had spent at Sachiko's summer home, things seemed to be going so well. Sachiko and Yumi had spent a few lunches together a week, walked to and from school and the bus stop together, and even gone out during the weekends. It had been some of the best times of Yumi's life. But, in the past few weeks, Sachiko had less and less time to devote to Yumi. She had her own duties to attend to, Yumi guessed, what with the _Yamiyurikai_, her schoolwork, as well as her family matters. Sachiko was _Rosa Chinensis, _after all. Yumi, in comparison, had a vastly different amount of requirements needed of her and, as a result, had much more free time than her _Grande Seour_.

_Still_, Yumi frowned as she stabbed at another egg with her chopsticks, _she could at least tell me what she's doing recently… _

Truth be told, Yumi was extremely clingy. She would never admit it, but she loved being nearby Sachiko. She loved being around her, hearing her voice, seeing her face. It was one of the things that made her the happiest and most fulfilled.

But when _her Onee-sama_ didn't spend time around her… didn't talk to her… barely would even notice her when she entered a room… it hurt. It hurt her that her _Onee-sama_, whom she loved so much, whom she looked up to as everything she wanted to be, didn't want to be with her. Yumi would even go so far as to say that it made her a bit upset.

Upset enough to…

Yoshino's face in front of her eyes jolted her back to reality.

"Uh… I'm sorry, Yoshino-san. What did you say?" Yumi sat back, coloring slightly by her friends close proximity.

"I said we should get back at them!" The other girl repeated, a curious glint in her hazel eyes.

It took a second for Yumi's brain to catch up. The moment of confusion went by quickly, however. "Get… back? What, like revenge?"

Yoshino nodded enthusiastically. "Yea! We should get revenge on them for ignoring their cute _petite soeurs!_ If they want to ignore us, fine. We should think of something to get back at them!" She sat down roughly in her seat and tapped her small chin thoughtfully.

Yumi blinked, trying to come to terms with what her friend was saying. It didn't work out very well. "Uh… are you saying that you want to get… _revenge_… on _Onee-sama_ and Rei-sama for ignoring us?"

"Yes! That's it exactly!" Yoshino declared, happily downing another mouthful of rice. "You want to get back at Sachiko-sama for ignoring you, too, right?"

"Well… I don't want to hurt her… or inconvenience her…" Yumi said, pressing her index fingers together nervously.

"No, no, no. We won't hurt them. We'll just…" The girl smiled slowly, the glint still in her eyes. "Do something… to get their attention…"

Yumi exhaled, relief flooding into her body. She would never want to hurt her _Onee-sama_, but she desperately wanted the older girl's attention again. And if a little revenge would get _Rosa Chinensis _to look at her again…

"Alright, what do we do?" Yumi asked, a bit more determined now.

Yoshino scrunched up her face, deep in thought. It was indeed a difficult problem. Both of the older girls were quite unflappable, most of the time. While Rei was constantly worrying about Yoshino, and any little thing that happened to her was likely to draw Rei's attention, Sachiko was quite the opposite. Sachiko was the epitome of a lady. She rarely let anything visibly bother her, and aside from a few instances in the past, Yumi had rarely seen the girl flustered in any way. She wasn't really sure how she could succeed in getting the older girls' attentions.

"Well, it should probably be something that involved the two of us. Rei-chan has been ignoring me, so it would have to be more than me alone that will draw her attention. As for you…" Yoshino smirked. "Sachiko-sama fawns over you to no end. But, from what you said, she has been ignoring you as well. Therefore, if we do something that involves both of us… its more likely to draw the attention of both Rei-chan and Sachiko-sama."

Yumi nodded, agreeing with the logic behind her friend's argument. However, actually thinking of something that would successfully get the attention of both _Rosa Chinensis _and _Rosa Foetida _would be, in practice, quite difficult.

As the thought of something the two of them could do, something on Yoshino's face caught Yumi's eye. It was a grain of rice. The small morsel was stuck on the side of the girl's mouth as she sat there, deep in thought. Yumi would later claim that she had no idea why she did what she did, and would forever stick to that story. But, completely surprising herself and her friend, Yumi leaned forward, picked the piece of rice from Yoshino's face and, smiling softly, stuck it into her own mouth.

Yoshino's eyes widened as it occurred to her what Yumi had just done.

"Uh…" She stammered, coloring slightly.

"Sorry." Yumi apologized and held her hand behind her head embarrassingly. "It was just a habit I got from when my brother was little." She giggled, shrugging bashfully.

Yoshino nodded slowly, her eyes still wide with shock. It wasn't _weird_, what Yumi had done. It had just been surprising. Yoshino hadn't been prepared for it and was therefore thrown off her usual game. It usually took only a beat for the girl to get her energy back. But for some reason, she sat there, staring at Yumi blankly. Then, as if struck by lightning, she stood up, a triumphant look on her face.

"Ah hah! I got it!" She yelled, startling Yumi by returning to her usual energetic state.

"Got what?"

Yoshino sat back down, lowering her voice. "I know how we can get Rei-chan and Sachiko-sama back for ignoring us." She smirked very evilly at Yumi.

Yumi, for all her worth, kept back the shiver that came from the smile Yoshino had given her.

"Uh… ok? What is it?"

Yoshino gestured for Yumi to come closer. Yumi leaned forward, slowly and carefully. Taking a careful glance around the room, Yoshino made sure none of the other students were within close earshot.

"All right… so here's what we are going to do…" She leaned forward and whispered her plan into Yumi's ear.

It only took a few moments to explain the idea to her friend.

"Reeeehhhhh?" Yumi lurched back, giving out a rather unladylike sound of surprise. Surely she hadn't heard correctly. "W-what?"

"You heard right." Yoshino pressed her finger to her mouth, a clearly understood gesture to be quieter. Which would have been humorous to Yumi, considering how loud Yoshino had been before, if Yumi had not been too shocked to even think straight. "That will certainly get their attention, right?"

"B-b-b-but we…" Yumi stammered. She casted a nervous glance around the room, afraid other students had overheard Yoshino's plan. "We can't do _that_! I-I-I…"

Yoshino raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. "And why is that?"

"Uh-I-we…" Yumi's thoughts were flying through her head at a pace of thousands of kilometers an hour. "_Onee-sama_ will… Rei-sama will… I mean… we-"

Yoshino held up hear hand, causing Yumi to stop talking. "It won't be _real_, of course. It will be an _act_. An act to get the attention of our lovely _Onee-samas_, right?" She peered at Yumi, only partially facing the girl. "Don't tell me you aren't willing to do a little act to get your precious _Onee-sama_ to look at you again…"

Yumi's mouth opened and closed like a fish. She simply had no idea how to respond. How Yoshino had come up with the idea, she did not know. Why Yoshino had even suggested it, she did not know. She had never even _considered _something like that before. She had no clue what to say.

Yoshino shrugged, sighing. "Alright, alright, I get it; it's a horrible idea. I'm _sooo sooorrrrrrry_ I said such an unattractive plan to you Yumi-san. I'm sure we can-"

"I'll think about it."

Yoshino turned her attention back to Yumi, arching her eyebrow lightly. Yumi's head was lowered, her bangs covering her face from view. The girl had spoken so softly, Yoshino wasn't even sure she had spoken at all.

"Hmm? What was that? I didn't quite hear you."

"I said I'll consider it…" Yumi said again, louder this time. She raised her head and locked eyes with Yoshino. "I'll call you tonight, all right? After I think more about it…"

Yoshino grinned and nodded. "Sure. Think about it, and then give me a call." She picked up her chopsticks again and held them out in front of her, pointed at Yumi's lunch. "Until then… can I have some of that egg?"

0 – 0 – 0

Yumi sat on her bed, her knees pulled up against her chest, staring hard at her telephone. She had been staring at her phone for the past hour, ever since dinner had ended. All throughout dinner, she had been musing silently. Her parents and Yuuki, her brother, tried to strike up conversations with her, but to no avail. Eventually, they gave up and chalked it up to a poor mood. After dinner, Yumi trudged to her room and sat on her bed, staring hard at the phone.

And so she had been the past hour.

She had almost picked it up once half an hour before, actually, but ended up panicking and slamming the receiver back into its cradle.

All afternoon, she had been running through the entire conversation she and Yoshino had during lunch that day.

It had started as a normal meal with Yoshino complaining about Rei… totally normal on most occasions. But then it turned into an impromptu "meeting" about how their _Onee-samas_, Sachiko and Rei, had been ignoring them recently, and how they should take revenge on the older girls for their neglect. If they even wanted to call it neglect. It seemed like such a negative word, but it certainly seemed like it to Yumi. She had no idea why Sachiko had been ignoring her recently, and she really wanted to know. For her, spending time with Sachiko was what made her the happiest. She desperately wanted to have her _Onee-sama_ look at her again… and wanted the same for her friend.

But…

Then their conversation had taken such a surprising turn, she didn't quite know how to take it. Had Yoshino been serious when she told Yumi the plan she had come up with? It had seemed so outlandish… so insane… that it couldn't possibly work.

But the longer Yumi spent thinking about it, the better it seemed to her. It could cause many problems for her and Yoshino. It could cause problems for the _Yamayurikai_ and all of their friends… but only if they failed. If Yoshino and Yumi were successful in their act, then they would gain the attention of their _Onee-samas_ back…

It would work.

It had to work.

Sachiko would look at her again.

The thought of spending time with Sachiko made a smile creep across Yumi's face. She was indeed determined enough if it meant that the older girl would look Yumi's way again. Before she could lose her nerve, Yumi snatched the telephone receiver from its cradle, and dialed Yoshino's home number. After a few rings, the other end picked up.

"Shimazu residence."

"Uh… Good evening. I am sorry to bother you at home this late. This is Yumi Fukuzawa. Is Yoshino available?"

0 – 0 – 0

Saturday came quickly, and after classes the maidens of Lillian could use their early departure from classes to participate on club activities, accompany friends on their outings, and get caught up on schoolwork. The Yamiyurikai, likewise, gathered in the Rose Mansion to perform their duties as the student council.

The Rose Mansion would catch the eye of anyone that happened to walk by. Being an independent building used solely by the student council, and because of its strictly wooden two-story appearance, one could certainly see why it is called a mansion. Most students stayed away from the building, but anyone was welcome if they wanted to come. If, that is, they could handle the atmosphere of high-class ladies that the three roses, _Rosa Foetida, Rosa Chinensis, and Rosa Gigantea _put off.

The three members of the student council sat in the meeting room on the second floor of the Rose Mansion, on the other side of the familiar biscuit-shaped door, trading words between each other as they discussed the day's matters. Yumi stood at the small kitchenette in the corner of the room, silently making tea. Today was going to be the day her and Yoshino put their plan into action.

Carefully, Yumi turned her head and scanned the room.

Yoshino was sitting at her place beside _Rosa Foetida,_ Rei Hasekura. Brushing aside her short-trimmed hair, the older girl silently read a handout that a club had given the council to look over about their budget plans for the next term. Yoshino, likewise, was sitting uncharacteristically quiet beside Rei. She glanced in Yumi's direction, and winked.

Yoshino was ready.

Yumi cast her glance to the other occupants in the room. Her _Grande Soeur_, Sachiko was there, talking quietly to the third member of the _Yamiyurikai_, Shimako Toudou. Sachiko was her ever-normal self; cool, calm, collected, and beautiful. Her long, black hair shined in the reflection of sunlight that streamed in from the window. Her cool, dark blue eyes carefully scanned the handout that Shimako had given her.

She hadn't looked Yumi's way since she had entered the room.

Shimako, on the other hand, had happily greeted her classmate and even offered to make some tea herself. _Rosa Gigantea_, as many of her admirers and acquaintances would say, was the epitome of a lady. Long, wavy chestnut hair. Large eyes that made you smile to even look at...

Sometimes Yumi found it a little depressing that she was constantly surrounded be women that made her feel… well… somewhat inferior as a girl.

Sighing to herself, she looked over at the other two occupants of the room; Touko Matsudaira and Noriko Nijou. Touko was a distant relative of Sachiko's and a generally good girl, once you got right down to it. There had been issues when she first arrived of her getting between Yumi and Sachiko, but that had since calmed down and the two were on friendly terms. Touko occasionally came to the Rose Mansion to assist with the _Yamiyurikai_ work. Noriko, on the other hand, was the _Petite Soeur _to Shimako, which made the first year girl _Rosa Gigantea en bouton._

Everyone was here. But was Yumi ready?

Willing herself to keep from shaking, Yumi carried a warm cup of tea to Sachiko.

"Here is some tea, _Onee-sama_." She said quietly, placing the cup and saucer beside the older girl. Yumi stood there for another moment, desperately hoping to get some sort of acknowledgement from her _soeur_. A "Thank you, Yumi.", or one of her bright smiles that she loved so much. Anything would be greatly appreciated. But, Sachiko simple turned her head in Yumi's general direction, saying nothing.

Yumi felt her stomach turn uncomfortably. So… it was like that, then. She darted her eyes towards Yoshino. The girl stared at Yumi unblinkingly. Then, with a silent, minute nod, Yumi knew that they were ready to go.

Bowing slightly to Sachiko, maybe in a silent apology, Yumi made her way to the chair besides Yoshino and sat down. Her friend stirred beside her. The other girls in the room were going about their usual business, occasionally glancing around to the other girls out of curiosity.

It was now or never.

She was ready.

Slowly, Yumi reached up and gently grasped one of Yoshino's long braids. After another moment, she started twirling it around her fingers, putting on a practiced face of bored playfulness. Yoshino smiled and, after a few seconds of Yumi playing with her hair, reached up and poked the girl's cheek. Yumi suppressed a giggle, and took a sip of tea as she continued to play with Yoshino's hair. She didn't dare look around to see if anyone was watching, as it would likely give them away. Instead, she periodically shifted her eyes towards Yoshino's face, and giggled when her friend also sought out her gaze.

Yumi, even though she expected it, had to suppress a cough when Yoshino gently pushed her elbow into her side. Her cough came out as a soft laugh and she retreated her hand from her friend's hair to protect herself from another elbow attack.

"You two seem quite friendly, don't you?" Shimako's voice came out softly from across the table. Yumi and Yoshino turned their attention to the other second year. She had put down her pencil on the handout she had been working on and instead chose to pick up her tea. She took a small sip.

"Well, yea. Of course." Yoshino smiled airily and shrugged, taking another chance to nudge Yumi. Yumi saw Sachiko glance up at the pair in her peripheral.

"Of course?" Shimako tilted her head to the side in unspoken question. Yumi and Yoshino were friends, so it was common for the two to be friendly with each other. But something about the way Yoshino had said "Of course" sounded off. "What do you mean by that?"

Yumi smiled and put on the look of surprise that she had been practicing in the mirror at home. "You mean, you don't know, Shimako-san?"

"Know what?" The girl asked. Noriko and Touko were now paying attention to the conversation. Touko stared at the girls with her usual stare of indifference, whereas Noriko slowed her pace as she carried a tray of cookies.

Yumi's heart thumped in her chest. She felt an unmistakable feeling of unease in her stomach. She almost felt like calling the whole thing off. But it was too late. Yoshino stirred next to her and, gently reaching up to the table, laid her thin fingers on the back of Yumi's hand.

"Yumi-chan and I are dating."

The tray of cookies fell to the ground.

Touko's eyebrows raised in surprise.

Rei started and stood up from her seat, her chair scraping across the floor.

Sachiko froze, her eyes wide and her mouth open, prepared to take a sip from her tea.

Only Shimako remained unfazed. She smiled and tilted her head in a cute gesture matching her personality perfectly. "Oh, is that so? Well, congratulations!"

0 – 0 – 0

Dawwww... Cute~ Gahaha!

Anyway, to continue or not continue?

Lemme know what you all think! I'll continue it based on if people wanna read more!

R & R~


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Marimite =.= Boohoo. nahh its cool.

A/N: WoW! The reception I got from all you homies was OUTSTANDING! So much more welcome than on the Avatar section (cough cough) That either means that everyone in the MariMite section is AWESOME... or I suck at Avatar: The Last Airbender Fics... meh...

SO! Because of the AWESOME reception I got for the first chapter, I decided to try and write out the complete "Revenge is a Dish..." story! Im not sure how long it'll be (im still kinda coming up with the later half of the story...) but Ill finish it as long as people keep reading it and telling me what y'all think!

You guys are awesome!

**Revenge is a Dish...**

**Chapter 2**

0 – 0 – 0

The news that Rosa Chinensis en bouton and Rosa Foetida en bouten were now a 'couple' has spread throughout Lillian Girls' Academy faster than the common cold, and drastically at that. The two girls had told the Yamayurikai on Saturday after classes, and by Monday morning, all the girls at school and their grandmothers seemed to know (well, not really, but that's certainly how it seemed to Yoshino). Even a small puppy Yoshino passed by Monday on her way to school (alone, by the way) seemed to know, from the way it looked at her as it trotted by, his tongue lolling about happily.

"Your just jealous, aren't you, doggy?" Yoshino snickered as she skipped past the animal.

She should have been surprised that news would spread that fast, but within the walls of Lillian, no matter how 'proper' and 'lady-like' the maidens that spent their time there were, in fact, still girls. And girls loved to gossip. But when Yoshino arrived at school and stopped in front of the figure if Maria-sama to pray, and spied at least a dozen girls pass by her while whispering, all she could do was shake her head and laugh silently.

She hadn't actually thought as far ahead as she perhaps should have when she had come up with her idea of 'dating' Yumi Fukuzawa in order to get their grande soeurs to pay more attention to them. It was a really spur-of-the-moment plan that seemed good at the time. And as far as she was concerned, it was sure to work. The idea that their cute, lovable petite soeurs were dating each other would arouse feelings of possessiveness and jealousy from Rei and Sachiko. That would elicit the attention that Yumi and Yoshino wanted from them.

It would definitely work.

Yoshino finished praying and continued walking towards the shoe lockers. She passed by the Rose Mansion, and cast a tired glance over the old building. Saturday afternoon in the Yamayurikai meeting room had certainly been an experience, and a not-so-surprising one, at that. After she and Yumi had broken the news to the other girls, there had been 'quiet' pandemonium.

Noriko, the poor girl, felt awful about breaking the plate that had cookies on it. Touko had helped her pick up the pieces, all the while being as silent as possible.

Sachiko had been caught in the middle of taking a drink, and barely had the sense to set down her cup of tea, take a few deep breaths, and leave the room with a quiet 'excuse me'. She had come back a few minutes later, but only to finish up her work and leave shortly thereafter. She hadn't said a word to anyone else during the entire time.

Rei, after knocking over her chair, had come to her senses. She righted the poor, abused piece of furniture and sat herself back down.

A whole seat away from Yoshino.

Visbably flustered, Rosa Foetida had to reach over and gather her documents she had been reading to continue her work. For the following half an hour, and had avoided Yoshino's gaze and only spoke to Shimako.

Shimako, the only person there seemingly unaffected, was her usual self. She had seemed to sense the general feeling of unease in the room and perfectly acted as a 'buffer' between Sachiko (before she had left), Rei, the underclassmen, and the new 'couple'.

_Maria-sama bless Shimako-san… really…_

Yoshino giggled lightly. The young Rosa Gigantea was truly worthy of her title. She could handle almost anything is she put her mind to it.

"But really… did Sachiko-sama and Rei-chan _have_ to act like that?" She sighed to herself as she entered the shoe lockers. Taking a moment to change to her indoor shoes, she looked around. There were a few other students, both first years and second years around her. They all were taking careful glances at Yoshino, and looking around as if searching for someone else.

Yumi-chan, most likely. It seemed that everyone knew by now.

Yoshino vaguely wondered how long it would take the newspaper club members to track her and Yumi down. She placed a mental wager on the next day; most likely in the morning. They would probably spend all day coming up with an entire list of questions and conversations to have and later print up. The club was extremely thorough.

Now in her indoor shoes, Yoshino picked up her book bag and stood in front of the entrance to the classroom building.

"Alright, Yoshino. Let's do this!"

Today was going to be an interesting day.

0 – 0 – 0

"Yumi-san, would you like to have lunch with me today?"

Yumi looked up to see Shimako standing by her desk, a small, cute lunchbox in her hands.

"Ah, yes, of course, Shimako-san! Let me get my lunch and we can go. The usual place, right?" By usual place, Yumi meant the area behind the classrooms that was usually covered with Ginko nuts in the right season. Considering it _was_ the right season, Yumi was sure that Shimako would often be eating there.

"You are correct, Yumi-san." She smiled and gestured to the door as Yumi stood. "Shall we?"

A few minutes later, the two girls were sitting on the short ledge, their feet resting comfortably among the ginko nuts littering the ground. Yumi opened her bento to find her usual lunch that her mother had her. Rice, egg, some boiled vegetables, and a few cutely shaped sausages (what does she think I am, five?). Shimako, likewise, had a beautifully prepared lunch. She had likely made it herself.

"Those sausages are quite cute, Yumi-san. May I have one?" Shimako smiled, looking down into Yumi's lunch.

"Help yourself, please."

"My, my. Thank you very much." She picked out an octopus sausage and popped it into her mouth. "Delicious." She said after carefully chewing and swallowing the piece of meat.

"Thank my mother, she prepared the lunch." Yumi sighed and picked out a piece of something green, not quite knowing what it was, and slowly ate it.

"Mmm. Then I shall, when I see her next."

"Mmm…"

The two girls sat silently for a while, enjoying the quiet atmosphere around them. For Yumi, it was exceptionally nice. The entire morning had been exceedingly hectic. It wasn't particularly _busy_… it had just been tiring. As soon as she had stepped onto campus, she had been accosted by almost all of her classmates, and a lot of girls she had rarely even spoken to, about Yoshino. Was it true? Were they really a couple? What did Yoshino like to do on the weekend? Did Yoshino really walk around her house in her underwear?

_Just how in the world would I know that…_ Yumi sighed inaudibly as she chewed her food. _Honestly_…

But, even thought it was quite exhausting, the entire experience so far had been pretty entertaining. It was extremely similar to when she and Sachiko had become soeurs. Many people asked her so many questions, so many people demanded answers from her, and so many people had sought her out just to even see what kind of girl Sachiko would consider making her petite soeur.

In this case, everyone already knew who she was. Everyone already knew Yoshino. The two of them were quite famous as it were. Now that word had travelled (extremely quickly at that) that two of the most 'popular' girls in the school were dating…

Yumi shook her head, suppressing a self-depreciative laugh. She, in a million years, would have never guessed that so many people would be so interested in the goings on in her life.

Apparently, though, from how many people had come to her classroom to see her and try and ask questions of her, she had been wrong about that.

It would have to take some getting used to.

Vaguely, Yumi found her thoughts float back to Yoshino. She wondered what kind of morning her friend had suffered through. She imagined it had been similar to her own. The two were in a similar (the same, actually) situation, and their classes were close by each other. But, they still had not seen each other yet. It was no matter though. They were all going to the Rose Mansion after classes for a meeting. They would be able to meet then.

Additionally, they would be able to see Sachiko and Rei that afternoon.

The thought of seeing Sachiko send a shiver through Yumi's body. It wasn't a good or bad feeling. It was a nervous feeling… an apprehensive feeling. Her grande soeur's reaction on Saturday had not been a surprising one. Yumi had even assumed the older girl would react in that way. But it didn't make it any easier to accept. Hopefully, after having a couple days to get over the shock, her Onee-sama would talk to her.

Yumi desperately hoped Sachiko would talk to her. To pay attention to her. To even look at her more. Anything at all.

Yumi looked down at her lunch to find that it was all gone. She had already eaten it all. She looked beside her and noticed that Shimako had finished her lunch, as well. She had been thinking do hard that she didn't even notice how much time had passed.

"Well, lunch is about over. Shall we return?" The girl said with a soft smile.

Yumi blinked for a few moments, and nodded slowly. "Uh… yes. Of course. Let's go."

The two stood up, and walked back to class together.

0 – 0 – 0

That afternoon, after classes, the Yamayurikai met in the Rose Mansion to have a meeting about an upcoming art exhibition. Apparently, a few students' works had been selected for the exhibition and the Yamayurikai were charged with going over some of the particulars before passing the information onto the students and the exhibition council. The job, while not overly strenuous, did require all the members of the student council and their petite soeurs to be there.

Yumi stood in front of the front door of the Rose Mansion, physically shaking with apprehension as she contemplated just turning tail and running home. She didn't really know what kind of face her Onee-sama would make when she showed up in the meeting room, and she wasn't sure she wanted to know, either. Her reaction to the news on Saturday hadn't really been what Yumi had been hoping for… then again, she really didn't know _what _kind of reaction she had been hoping for.

Taking a deep breath, Yumi put her hand on the doorknob of the Rose Mansion, and uttered a short prayer to Maria-sama. She turned the doorknob and-

"Yumi-chan!" Came a cheerful voice behind her.

"Kyaaaa!" Yumi promptly screamed, her arms leaping up to her face in fright. After a few uneasy moments, and when she was sure she wouldn't be attacked, Yumi lowered her arms to find Yoshino standing in front of her, eyes wide and mouth agape.

"Y-Yumi-chan… you scared me…" She let out a deep breath, holding her hand over her chest.

"I'm sorry, Yoshino-san…" Yumi bowed and desperately tried to lower her heart rate. "I didn't mean to…"

_Wait-_

"H-hey! You were the one that surprised _me_!" Yumi declared, pointing her finger at Yoshino's nose. The girl shrugged nonchalantly.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry… but what were you doing here? It looked like you had fallen asleep in front of the Rose Mansion."

Yumi sighed, at the same time realizing that she had been sighing awfully often lately. "I don't know… I am a bit afraid to go inside. I don't know what kind of reaction Onee-sama will have. I guess I'm a little afraid… Haha… funny, right?" Yumi tried to laugh, but it came out as a sound not unlike air being deflated from a tire. Yoshino shook her head tiredly.

"Yumi-chan… this is _why _we are 'dating', right? To get attention and a reaction out of our Onee-samas. To get them to talk to us again. So don't worry so much. If they are really our loving Onee-samas, then they won't look at us negatively, right?"

"I guess not…"

Yoshino put her hands on Yumi's shoulders, causing the girl to look directly at her. Yumi felt her cheeks flush as she caught the determined look in her friend's face.

"No! Not 'I guess not'." She whispered loudly. "Absolutely. It will absolutely work. Alright, Yumi-chan?"

Yumi stared into Yoshino's eyes for a long moment. Most times, her best friend was extremely easy to get along with. The girl was so easy-going and friendly, oftentimes eccentric, that it was hard _not _to like her. She always had a determined air around her. It was like the girl always was sure of herself. She always knew what she wanted. She knew how she had to get where she wanted to go. It was a trait that Yumi, when she had first met Yoshino, would never have pegged on the frail-looking girl. But after she had gotten her heart surgery the previous year, Yoshino finally had the opportunity to let her personality come out and shine. It had been a fantastic thing for her and everyone around her. It allowed her to do what she really wanted, to act how she really was. It was inspiring for many people, Yumi included.

That was why, as Yumi stared into the determined look in Yoshino's dark eyes, she felt as though she could believe her friend completely. The plan was crazy. The plan was full of holes. She was sure it would get them into trouble. Yumi even was positive that Yoshino had come up with it off the top of her head. But she was also sure it would work.

"Alright." Yumi said, nodding her head. "You are right. If they are our Onee-samas… they will not think badly of us."

Yoshino smiled happily and adjusted Yumi's ribbons in the girl's hair. "That's my girl. Well… sort of." She giggled, causing Yumi to join in. "Alright. Are we ready to face the inquisition?"

"Ready."

"Good." Yoshino gripped the doorknob and, suddenly remembering, turned her face back to Yumi. "Oh. That's right. Remember… call me Yoshino-_chan_."

Not giving Yumi a chance to say anything else, Yoshino opened the door and entered the building, immediately making her way to the second floor meeting room. Yumi caught up after a few moments, and fell into step behind her friend just before they reached the top of the stairs. Yoshino, putting her hand on the doorknob for the second floor meeting room, cast a smirk back at Yumi, and winked. Yumi nodded, sharing her friend's determination.

_Let's go!_

Yoshino opened the door slowly, politely; as was expected of a student of Lillian. Yumi follow her friend into the room, and spied the occupants all at once. Shimako was first, who smiled and greeted the pair as they entered (Gokigenyou). Noriko also greeted them as they entered, turning around from her task of preparing tea. She immediately started preparing two more cups for the new arrivals. The only other occupants of the room, and the only others who did not utter a greeting, were Rosa Chinensis and Rosa Foetida. The two third years simply looked up as Yumi and Yoshino entered, gave the slightest of matching nods, and continued their perusal of the documents they were in the process of reviewing.

"Gokigenyou, Onee-sama. Rei-sama. Shimako-san. Noriko-chan." Yumi greeted, smiling at everyone. She looked around. "No Touko-chan today?"

"She is busy with the drama club today, Yumi-sama." Noriko said, pouring tea carefully into cups. Yumi nodded in understanding as Yoshino took a seat at the large table. "She sends her greetings, however."

"I see. Give her my thanks when you see her next." Yumi said with a smile. After finishing her sweep of the room, she took a seat besides Yoshino. After settling herself, she took a moment to drink the tea that Noriko had given her. It was a warm, sweet tea today. Sweet tea, to Yumi, was a great treat on cool days. She sighed softly as she drank the tea, and almost missed the fact that Shimako was still looking her direction.

"Uh… hello, Shimako-san…" She said nervously.

The girl smiled, even wider than before. "You look very happy today, Yumi-san. It is a good change from the past few weeks."

"Ah… well, yes. I suppose I have been feeling a bit… under the weather recently." Yumi set down her teacup, making sure to use her pinky finger to not cause the cup to make a loud noise as it set on the table. "But I am feeling much better now."

Shimako shifted her gaze to Yoshino, and then back to Yumi. "That is very nice to hear. Sometimes a poor mood can do very negative things for the body. I daresay recent developments may have had some effect on your improvement?" She giggled and batted her hand at the air, as if to say 'Bad Shimako bad'.

Yumi laughed quietly and shrugged. She didn't quite know how to respond to something like that. Perhaps it was better to just quietly agree and let it go.

"I agree with you, Shimako-san." Yoshino chimed in, perhaps a little louder that what would have been 'acceptable' considering the size of the room. "Yumi-chan had been in a poor mood recently. I'm not entirely sure why, but it just seemed to me that she had been especially _lonely_. It bothered me quite a lot to see her so lonely. And, as it happened, I was quite _lonely_ as well. It seems to work out perfectly, doesn't it?" She smiled happily and leaned in close to Yumi, who had turned a pale shade of her usual skin tone.

"My, my. It really does seem like it, in that case." Shimako giggled quietly. Noriko sat down beside Shimako, a tired look on her face. She was still getting her mind wrapped around the idea of two of her upperclassmen dating, it seemed.

Yoshino snickered and jabbed Yumi in the ribs softly, causing the girl to cry out. Only after the noise had escaped her lips, and perhaps a bit too loudly at that, did Sachiko stand from her seat suddenly.

The girl cleared her throat, a clear sign that she was going to speak. She sent a look to Rei, who let out a heavy sigh and stood as well. Sachiko nodded and turned back to the other girls.

"While we are on that subject, we have something to say." Sachiko began, casting a firm look around the room, resting her eyes on everyone. Her eyes lingered on Yumi's a few moments longer than the rest. "Rei and I had a discussion yesterday, and we have a few words for you two. First, we are forced to inform you two that 'dating' in school, while is technically permitted, is also a distraction. You two have obligations. These include your work with the Yamayurikai, and, perhaps most important, your schoolwork. If you two insist on being… together… then you must _not_ let it interfere your positions as students of Lillian and members of the Yamayurikai." She let out a deep breath, and inhaled again. "Am I understood, Yoshino-san? Yumi?" She let her eyes rest on Yumi's for a long moment.

"Yes, Sachiko-sama. I understand." Yumi heard Yoshino say beside her.

Yumi tried to open her mouth to speak, but found that her throat closed all on its own. She was staring at Sachiko's dark blue eyes. Usually, her eyes were warm and happy. Now, though, they sent a chill down through Yumi's body. Was her Onee-sama… angry? Yumi felt a sick feeling coil in her stomach as she looked back at Sachiko. She had made her Onee-sama mad.

She had made a big mistake.

The older girl stood, unblinkingly on the other side of the table, clearly waiting for an answer from her petite soeur. Yumi felt her mouth open.

_Onee-sama… do you hate me?_ Were the words that ran through her head.

"Yes, Onee-sama… I understand." Were the words that came out of her mouth.

Sachiko nodded, satisfied. She turned to Rei. "Rei, do you have anything to add?" Yumi felt Yoshino stiffen next to her.

Rei silently looked from Yoshino, to Yumi, and back to Yoshino. "Well…" She sighed, looking very tired. "Just… do not do anything… untoward the school or the Yamayurikai. Yoshino… just… be careful. Yumi-chan… take care of Yoshino." With that, she sat back down heavily, a slightly uncomfortable look on her face.

Sachiko kept her gaze on Rei for a moment longer, and then shifted to Shimako. "Shimako-san?"

The girl stood up and smiled happily. "Have fun!" She clapped her hands together softly. Noriko groaned and let her head fall on the table with a 'thud'.

0 – 0 – 0

"Well, _that_ didn't work out as well as we hoped, did it?" Yumi sighed, looking dejectedly at the ground as she walked. The path away from the figure of Maria-sama was littered with ginko nuts, and Yumi was careful as usual not to step on any. Yoshino, on the other hand, went out of her way to step on the nuts.

"Gyah!" She said triumphantly, hopping on a particularly large nut, laughing as it squished under her shoe. "Bwahaha! Bakabaka Rei-chan! Take that! And that! Aaaaand that!" She kept pace a little behind Yumi, while at the same time making a mess of the path as they walked.

"Neh, Yoshino-san…" Yumi began.

"Yoshino-_chan_!" Came the correction.

Yumi sighed. "Yoshino-_chan_… you really think this is a good idea? I mean, I think it kinda backfired… right?"

Yoshino stopped stepping on nuts and fell into pace beside Yumi. "How so?" She asked, suddenly much calmer. Yumi blinked and let out a soft breath. Was she serious? Did she really think it was still a good idea even after what their Onee-sama had said to them?

"W-well…" Yumi said. "They seemed pretty mad, don't you think? If they got that angry with us… then maybe the plan wasn't such a good idea…"

The two walked silently past the gate of the school. Yumi could see the bus to her home coast gently to a stop. She felt a sudden urge to get on, but decided that it might be better to get this taken care of first. Another bus would come around soon, anyway.

Yoshino spun on her heels, turning around in a circle. "Hmm…" She mused as she completed her turn. "I'm not so sure it was a bad idea, myself. I mean, what was the goal of the plan?"

Yumi thought for a moment. "To… to get our Onee-sama's attention."

"Exactly. And what did we get today?"

"Scolded…" Yumi sighed, letting her shoulders fall. She hated getting scolded. It always made her feel like such a child. When she was young, her parents would scold her when she did something wrong. She knew why she had to be scolded, but it had always made her cry. She would cry and cry and cry until her parents took her into their arms, saying 'There, there… it's alright… we just don't want you to hurt yourself…'

But no one took her into their arms this time. No one told her they didn't want her to hurt herself. Instead, all she got was a cold stare and a warning from Sachiko and Rei saying not to do anything untoward…

_Wait… _Yumi thought as she stared off into the passing cars, suddenly understanding what Yoshino meant.

"Ah hah! Yes, that's it exactly!" Yoshino said, pointing at Yumi's face. "You finally understand? It looks like you do. We got _attention_! Honestly, Yumi-chan, your face is too easy to read."

Yumi blinked, feeling her cheeks warm. Yes, she did get it. She had been scolded like a child, yes. She had felt bad, yes. But that only meant that her Onee-sama, her _Sachiko_, had talked to her again. She had paid attention to her. Even if it was for something like a reprimanding, she had still gotten attention from the older girl.

Sachiko had even called her 'Yumi' again.

Their plan had worked!

Yumi felt the tight ball of unease in her stomach unwind. She instantly began to feel better as the felt her shoulders raise again.

"But that doesn't mean we can stop yet." Yoshino continued, tapping her chin thoughtfully. Yumi looked at her, her face a mix of surprise and confusion. "I mean, yes, Rei-chan and Sachiko-sama talked to us. But that was only because they felt responsible for us. They had to tell us off not only as our Onee-sama, but also as the Yamayurikai. What we want is for them to get them to pay _attention _to us again. Unless, that is, you really are alright with Sachiko-sama talking to you out of a sense of responsibility?"

Yumi shook her head furiously. "O-of course not! I want her to pay attention to me because we are soeurs! I want to talk to each other because we want to! I want to be with each other because we want to be! I… want to be with each other because we lo… love each other." She held a determined look on her face, keeping eye contact with Yoshino. Her friend held her gaze for a long moment, and then nodded, satisfied.

"Good, good. I agree with you. So, that means it's not over yet, ne?"

Yumi let out a long breath and shrugged. "I suppose you are right. It's not over yet. So what do we do next?"

"Well, I think it would be best to see if there are any big changes in Rei-chan and Sachiko-sama in the next few days. If there is, then maybe all they need is a little push. If there isn't any big change…" She trailed off, looking down the road thoughtfully.

"…What…?" Yumi asked slowly.

"Then they may need a big push." Yoshini said, somewhat distantly.

"And what exactly is a 'big push'?" Yumi was almost afraid to hear the answer. Yoshino was quiet for a few moments, and then shook her head, as if ridding herself of what she was thinking.

"Nothing, nothing. Anyway, I have to go shopping on the way home. I'll see you tomorrow! Bye bye Yumi-chan!" She turned and, with a wink to Yumi, walked in the direction of her home.

Yumi stared at Yoshino's retreating form for a long while, until she rounded a corner and disappeared from view. She had suddenly and completely changed her whole demeanor before leaving. Yumi found herself wondering what her friend had been thinking before deciding to suddenly go home. She hoped, desperately, it wasn't anything dangerous or outlandish.

"A big push, huh…" She sighed to herself and, seeing her bus approach, readied her transit card. Whatever Yoshino had been thinking, it was sure to wait until at least tomorrow.

0 – 0 – 0

A/N: Aaaand chapter two down!

I'm not _entirely_ sure what season is the best one to have ginko nuts hangin' around, so I apologize to those particularly _observant_ ones among you that notice the ginko nuts being around in the wrong time (or maybe the right time). Im not good with Japanese flora and the seasons. I live in China and it's a bit different here (Still have those annoying cicadas, though). Just bear with me and pretend there could be them nuts around.

An interesting fact; I actually wrote the end of this first, and worked my way back to the start. Hmm…

R & R!

Peace out, mah homies!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Marimite =.= Boohoo. nahh its cool.

*Warning!: Lime content below!*

A/N: Chapter 3 is here! I am constantly just BOWLED over by your guys' and gals' AWESOME reviews and reception. I have gotten NO flames at ALL! That's a record for me! (Although I might after this chapter... =.=;; just go easy on me a'ight? I cry easily...) Seriously, you all are the most awesomest homies EVAH! I wanna shout out to Atsirk Enoh, Lacie De Guzman, CherrieBluez, Madview, marcela, Artistia, Imani456, CelticX, and msFreed08 for your reviews! As well as any guest that left one as well. You guys are totally chill ;-)

Some of you were curious about Yoshino's _big push_... whelp, it'll go down in this chapter. It may seem a little OOC for some people, but just bear with me, Yoshino and Yumi is good for it.

Also, it was hard to put out this chapter so quickly after the previous one. I picked up GTA V the other day (it came the 20th here in Beijing) and well... I'm not great at time management... *blush* So I, for one, am surprised I was able to pull myself away from work AND GTA to churn out this chapter. Go me! Bwahahaha!

Heah we GO!

**Revenge is a Dish...**

**Chapter 3**

0 – 0 – 0

"Yumi-san! Yoshino-san is here!" One of Yumi's classmates called from the doorway. Yumi looked up from her lunch to see her 'girlfriend' leaning in from the second year hallway, her long braids swinging gently from her head.

"Ah, Yoshino-chan!" Yumi called, waving her hand slowly. "Come in!" She turned back to her classmate she had been talking to, asking if they could continue their conversation later. The girl agreed, and went off to join her friends on the other side of the room. Yoshino arrived at her seat and sat down at the desk in front of Yumi, turning the seat around so that she could eat while facing her.

"Gokigenyou, Yumi-_chan_." Yoshino winked and put her lunch on Yumi's desk. "How was your morning?"

Yumi opened her lunch at the same time as Yoshino, and took a moment to look at their prepared lunches. Yumi's lunch was a typical one for hers. Her mother's sausages, some stir-fried vegetables (usually boiled), a fried egg, and… a piece of chocolate? Distantly, she remembered her mother hiding a smile when she gave Yumi her lunch this morning. It must have been something her mother smuggled in her lunch for today; she did that sometimes. All in all, it was a good, well-balanced lunch.

Yoshino's on the other hand…

"Uh… Yoshino-chan…?" Yumi began, staring at her friend's food.

"Don't say it… just… don't say it." Yoshino sighed. Her lunch was altogether unimpressive. And that was putting it nicely. Usually her lunch was beautifully prepared; more than likely as a result of Rosa Foetida, otherwise known as Rei Hasekura, preparing it on a daily basis. Yoshino's cousin was especially gifted with cooking and baking as she was in kendo. Yoshino regularly had expertly prepared meals with meat, bread, rice, vegetables, and other semi-gourmet food. It had been a well-known fact.

Today though, it was suffice to say that Yoshino's lunch was 'spartan_'_. There was rice… there were vegetables (prepared poorly)… and there was some meat, although only somewhat cooked.

"Uh… is… that sashimi?" Asked Yumi, trying to be tactful. Yoshino looked up in surprise and let out a giggle.

"You could say that Yumi-chan. I prepared my own meal this morning." She gestured to her food. "It was first time really cooking for myself. I don't think I did too well… but what can you do?" She shrugged and helped herself to a mouthful of rice.

Yumi smiled and, placing a sausage and a piece of egg from her lunch into Yoshino's, grabbed a piece of partially cooked meat and put it into her mouth. After chewing and swallowing (which took a few long, arduous moments), she looked up to see Yoshino holding her breath, looking at her.

"Mmm… it's good." Yumi said, putting on a brave face. Her friend exhaled slowly and her shoulders relaxed. The two friends ate silently for a few minutes.

Yumi kept taking looks around the classroom while eating from both her and Yoshino's lunch. There were still girls, even five days after everyone finding out that the two of them were 'dating', who were interested in their new relationship. But, as all things do, the initial shock eventually died down and people accepted that the Red Rose and Yellow Rose boutons were, indeed, dating. Yumi and Yoshino's classmates were the first to lay off the couple, and the rest of the second years finally held back their questions and concerned the previous day.

Unfortunately, the majority of the first years still hadn't gotten their fill. Even after the "Red/Yellow Rose Love Life" special issue of the Lillian Newspaper came out on Wednesday (just a day after the members of the newspaper club had tracked Yumi and Yoshino down for an interview), the general population of Lillian Academy for Women were still not satisfied. They wanted _more _. What Yumi had no idea of, as it happened, was what exactly they wanted _more of_.

She distantly became aware that Yoshino was talking.

"-so what you think?" She asked.

"Uh… I'm sorry, what did you say?" Yumi asked, coloring a bit. She hated being caught off guard.

"I said Rei-chan had, up until not, continued to take the time to make my lunch as she always did. Yesterday, she called me. _She called me! _She didn't visit, she just called. She called me to say that she will be busy most mornings from now on, and won't be able to prepare my lunch for a while." Yoshino's eyes were narrowed at the desk between her and Yumi. "So… I got up early to make my own lunch today… Rei-baka."

"I see…" Yumi said softly. "So that's why you made your own lunch this morning."

"Yes. My mother is usually gone in the mornings, so Rei-baka makes my lunch. But, looks like she is too busy now." Her voice turned crisp as she stuffed a piece of vegetable into her mouth. Her face scrunched up uncomfortably; the vegetables must not be very good. "So, what do you think about that? Rei-baka, I mean." Yoshino asked again after giving swallowing a go of her food.

Yumi put her chopsticks down and sighed. "I'm not sure. It's been a week since they found out. And aside from scolding up on Monday, Rei-sama and Onee-sama haven't really done anything. Onee-sama has been the same as before. Not really talking to me. Not really paying any attention to me. And Rei-sama…" She looked at Yoshino carefully. She didn't want to say anything that would inadvertently upset her friend. "Well, you know her better than I do. That is definitely not good, right? I mean, her not making your lunches anymore."

Yoshino nodded, a sour look on her face. "That is most assuredly a step in the wrong direction. Very astute, Yumi-chan. Rei-chan and Sachiko-sama's current attitude isn't what we are going for. What we wanted was for them to get jealous and possessive of their cute petite soeurs…"

"Mmm…" Yumi agreed, digging into her lunch again. "So, do you have any ideas?" She prodded after downing a piece of egg. Yoshino had mentioned before about giving their one-samas a _push_ of some kind. At the time, her friend hadn't elaborated on that idea, but had kept it to herself. Yumi had thought a little about it in her own time, and had come up with nothing that would work. She watched Yoshino consider the question for a moment, and then nod.

"I had one or two ideas… that we could do to get them jealous…"

"And… those ideas are…?" Yumi pressed, feeling a particular feeling of unease crawl up her spine.

"Do you know where Touko-chan is this afternoon?" Yoshino's question caught Yumi by surprise. She stared at her friend for a few moments, unsure whether she had actually wanted her to answer or not. But, of course, if she asked Yumi, she wanted an answer.

"Uh… Touko-chan… I believe is participating in her drama club this afternoon…" Yumi said, her finger on her chin thoughtfully. "Why? Did you need her for something?"

Yoshino nodded, poking one of the sausages Yumi had given her with her chopsticks. "Yea, we need to ask her a favor, I think. Are you busy this Sunday?" Again, she switched mental gears so quickly, Yumi had trouble keeping up.

"S-Sunday? Ah… I think I'm available… why?" Yumi blinked rapidly a few times, not knowing where her friend was going with this.

"We need Touko-chan for some advice, and we need time to practice. That's why." Yoshino elaborated, a small smirk on her face. "Now, my only question to _you_, is do you want to give your Onee-sama a little push? Or a big push?"

That was indeed a good question. Yumi looked away from Yoshino and stuck another piece of egg into her mouth from her lunch, chewing slowly. After Sachiko had scolded the pair on Monday, she had properly avoided Yumi since then. It wasn't any worse, but it hadn't been any better. There had almost been no change at all.

Except…

There had been a change. But it had been so small, if Yumi hadn't been paying attention and gotten to know Sachiko so well the past year, she wouldn't have ever seen it. Yesterday, when she and Yoshino had gone to the Rose Mansion for Yamayurikai work, she noticed Sachiko's expression when she had entered the room. Yumi had entered first, followed by Yoshino. When Yumi walked in the room and saw Sachiko, her expression was expressionless as usual. It was as if she had did not really care if Yumi was there or not. But when Yoshino walked in after her, the skin around the older girl's eyes tightened almost minutely. Yumi wasn't sure why, but it seemed as though Sachiko did not like to see Yoshino either in the Rose Mansion… or so close to Yumi.

Only then had Yumi realized it.

Sachiko was jealous.

Her Onee-sama was jealous that Yumi was close to Yoshino. Someone else had become close to her petite soeur, and so Sachiko was actually _jealous_. It was almost impossible to notice, but Yumi had. Sachiko, being the Ogasawara heiress, was trained from a young age to hold a certain attitude in public; not to show certain characteristics that were unbecoming of a proper young lady. Jealousy was, most likely, one of those things that she couldn't really show well.

She still didn't know why her black-haired Onee-sama had been ignoring her recently, but the fact that she knew Sachiko was jealous made it a little better.

Now all that Yumi had to do was get Sachiko to show it to her.

"I think… we should start small… and if that doesn't work… we could go for a big push." Yumi decided, raising her eyes to her friend. "I mean… we don't want to go too far… right?"

"Hmm… are you sure about that?" Yoshino smiled, leaning forward enough that Yumi could smell the scent of shampoo that faintly came from her head. "Going too far might be fun, after all."

Yumi shivered inwardly. She didn't really know why, but the way Yoshino said that sent an unfamiliar feeling through her. "Uh… um…" She stammered, not knowing what to say. Yoshino giggled and held up her hands in defeat.

"Alright, alright. We'll do it your way. We'll start small and, if that doesn't work, we can go about it my way." She stole an egg from Yumi's lunch and ate it. "Deal?"

Yumi sighed and put her elbows on her desk. "Do you think a big push is the best thing to do? So soon?"

Yoshino glanced at Yumi with a sardonic look on her face. "Yumi-chan, you need to remember something. Both Rei-chan as well as Sachiko-sama are _stubborn_. And not only that, they don't really like to let other people know what they are thinking. I know Rei. She won't do anything until it's big. That's why I returned her rosary last year. She would never have listened to me any other way. And Sachiko-sama…" She shook her head tiredly. "You should know her well enough, yes?"

Yumi nodded. She certainly did know Sachiko. Sachiko had her moments, but Yumi was sure Sachiko wouldn't really do anything unless it was really big or shocking.

"Alright… I get it. We'll do it your way, Yoshino-chan. We'll give them a big push." Yumi agreed, sighing again as she ate some rice. Her friend grinned widely and clapped her hands together.

"Great! Then after classes, we'll track down Touko-chan!"

Yumi found herself thinking of why in the world they needed Touko to help. She really, really hoped that Yoshino did _not_ want to include Touko in on their 'dating' situation. A love triangle in Lillian would not be looked well upon by the student body.

0 – 0 – 0

After classes, Yumi found her following Yoshino into the drama clubroom in search of Matsudaira Touko. The first year girl was easy to find, and all they had to do was ask a fellow second year they recognized to go ask for her to come out of the room for a few minutes. Soon after the second year entered the practice room, Touko walked out, a small smirk on her face.

"So, what can I do for my favorite 'fake couple'?" She asked.

Yumi blinked in shock. _Fake couple?_

Her surprise at the question must have been obvious, because Touko eyed Yumi and sighed. "Honestly, Yumi-sama… you may have everyone else fooled, but not me. Yoshino-sama is passable at playing the part. But you? No, not quite. I am sorry, but you are a terrible actress."

Yumi felt her heart pump heavily in her chest. _Was Touko going to tell everyone?_ The thought of their plan falling apart sent a feeling of fear deep into her stomach.

"In any case, no one else suspects anything and I won't blow your whole scheme wide open. Don't worry." She younger girl continued, arching her eyebrow. "Although, I am interested in why you are doing this…" The question was unspoken, but obvious.

Yoshino stepped in, crossing her arms over her chest. "Our Onee-samas have been ignoring us recently. We want to get their attention. We figured the thought of us dating would make them jealous."

"Ah. Yes, I see. That makes much more sense to me." Touko nodded, looking thoughtful. Yumi opened her mouth to ask what _hadn't_ made sense to Touko when the girl brushed her hair-drills aside, looking between the two second years. "So, what can I do for you two?"

"I need you to train us how to act a certain way." Yoshino declared, her tone was precise and determined.

"Hmm…? Act how?" The younger girl pressed, a mildly intrigued glint in her eyes.

"We decided to give Rei-chan and Sachiko-sama a push to get them jealous." Yoshino smirked, leaning forward towards the younger girl. Touko matched her expression and nodded in understanding.

"Interesting. I might be into that. What kind of training did you need? And what is the time frame?"

"We were thinking of practicing on Sunday, and giving them the push on Monday."

"And what is the act?"

Yoshino's expression grew more intense. "Oh, you will love it, I'm sure…" She beckoned Touko and Yumi closer, and make sure no one was around. Quietly, she told them the idea she had. Unsurprisingly, Yumi shot back and let out a squeal of surprise.

"Reehhhh? W-what?" She cried far too loudly. Yoshino's idea had been as surprising and outlandish as her initial idea to start 'dating'! Only now that they were dating (at least… fake dating), the bar had been raised by an extremely high amount. "A-are you s-serious?" She asked, holding her arms out to the sides in an effort to make herself seem as big as possible.

Yoshino sighed and put her hands on her hips tiredly. "That's the same face you made when I first suggested we start dating, you know? Of course I'm being serious." She looked at Touko. "Well, what do you think?"

The first year blinked away her shock for a few moments, and then laughed softly, shaker her head. "You are certainly brave I'll give you that, Yoshino-sama. That would definitely elicit a protective response out of Rei-sama and Sachiko-sama." She eyed Yumi, who was still standing there looking afraid. "But if Yumi-sama has that sort of reaction to even _talking_ about it… then I'm not sure how well you two will do in practice."

"Oh, she'll be fine, don't worry." Yoshino waved the idea away. "The question is can you help us prepare?" This time, Touko laughed loudly, thrusting out her chest and putting her hands on her hips. She spaced her feet apart and squared her shoulders. Altogether, it gave the impression of being extremely courageous and powerful.

"Of course I can!" She declared loudly, smirking. "This should be very interesting. I can't wait to see what will happen…"

Yumi looked at Touko and Yoshino in front of her. Both of them were laughing loudly. Both held their hands on their hips and their chests out. Both had similar, devilish expressions on their faces.

She felt a shiver of nervousness; one that had become all too familiar with over the past week. Was she the only one who thought that this might end badly?

0 – 0 – 0

Sunday finally came around, much to Yumi's disappointment. She had spent Saturday relatively quietly, and in hopes of Yoshino or Touko cancelling their plans for Sunday. Unfortunately, when Yoshino arrived with Touko in tow on Sunday morning at Yumi's front door, the girl felt a fresh stirring of unease. Were they really going to do this?

"What are you girls going to do today?" Yumi's mother asked happily. Yumi rarely had many friends over as she usually went out to visit people. In order to properly practice their plan, however, they couldn't very well do it in public where anyone and everyone could see them. And so, Yumi's house had been unilaterally decided upon. Her mother was glad, but also intrigued.

"Uh… we're going to… practice… something…" Yumi mumbled, but immediately cursed herself. Why why _WHY_ was she always so bad at lying?! Luckily, before her mother could question further, Touko came to the rescue.

"Mrs. Fukuzawa, good day to you." She said with a bow. "Yumi-sama and Yoshino-sama wanted to put on a special show for their grande soeurs, Rei Hasekura and Sachiko Ogasawara. To do that, they needed to employ a little 'acting'. Because I am in the drama club, and I regularly am with Yumi-sama and her friends, I decided to help them prepare at their request. I hope you do not mind the intrusion today in your home."

Yumi let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. _Nice save, Touko-chan!_

"Ah! That sounds lovely!" Yumi's mother smiled happily. "In that case, I will call you when lunch is ready." Yoshino and Touko both bowed to Yumi's mother as she walked out of the hall into the living room.

"Now! Go!" Yumi urged her friends upstairs and out of the dangerous territory of her mother's questioning.

"Is Yuuki-kun here today?" Yoshino asked, looking around the second floor hallway. Yumi shook her head as she reached her door.

"No, he went out with some of the other members of the Hanadara student council. You remember them, right, Yoshino-san?"

"Yoshino-_chan_!" Her friend hissed as they entered her room. She immediately made a B-line for Yumi's bed and sat herself down.

"Alright, alright… sorry, Yoshino-chan." Yumi sighed, shutting the door behind Touko, who snickered at Yoshino's remark. "Well… this is my room…" she waved her arm around her, showing off her small, yet tastily decorated room. But even as she did so, she knew it was futile. They weren't here today to see her room. "A-anyway…" She faltered, shooting her eyes from Touko to Yoshino. The two girls held similar looks of humor. They were actually enjoying this!

Touko cleared her throat. "Alright, _well_, what I want to know before we begin is if you two are sure you want to do this. Are you?" She looked at the two older girls seriously. "Yoshino-sama?"

"Yep." The girl answered. "It will definitely work." Touko nodded, smiling.

"Alright. Yumi-sama?"

Yumi swallowed. The decision really fell to her, after all. Yoshino was holding firm; she was sure it would work and that made her push forward. That effectively made Yumi the 'voice of reason' in this situation, as Yoshino would not change her mind. If Yumi felt uncomfortable at all, she could just change her mind.

Couldn't she?

"Um… Can I still change my mind later?" She asked, her voice high-pitched.

Touko looked at Yoshino, who sighed.

"Yes. You can always change your mind, Yumi-chan. But keep in mind we are _acting_ in order to get our Onee-sama jealous. It is an _act_. So don't think about it too much. You got it?"

Yumi nodded, understanding. It was an act. It wasn't real. Yoshino was her friend. Her friend would do anything to hurt her in any way. She needed to understand that.

"Al… alright." She said, exhaling softly. "I'm alright with it." Yoshino clapped her hands happily. Touko chuckled, shaking her head.

"Alright then. This should be really interesting..." She said under her breath, but still loud enough to be heard. "Then listen up, you two. Yoshino-sama, your idea was a bold one. But if you two can _properly_ and _believably _pull it off, Rei-sama and Sachiko-sama will definitely move on it. That's what I am here for. What I will do is direct you two in the methods of blocking, facial expressions, and body language. Got it?" She received nods from her two seniors. "Good. Now, I will ask again, because I must. Yumi-sama, are you alright with Yoshino-sama touching your body?"

Upon hearing the idea again, Yumi felt a shiver crawl up her spine. Yoshino had come up with the _insane_ plan to get caught by Sachiko and Rei in the act of… well… getting _familiar_ with each other (for lack of a better term) in the Rose Mansion. By her idea, if their Onee-sama caught them… being familiar with each other, then the two of them would get consumed with jealousy and be forced to pay attention to them. Yumi had initially argued that this would only get them negative attention; which is what they did not want.

But Yoshino had strongly and decisively supported the idea that this would, in fact, get positive attention from their grande soeurs. When asked how she had come to this conclusion, she simply said "because that's how Rei-chan and Sachiko-sama are". Yumi was, at first, confused by that. But Yoshino was her best friend. She was always determined in whatever she did, and she never backed down when she set her mind to something. She had to trust in Yoshino.

She suppressed the shiver that crept through her, and squared her shoulders. "I'm alright with it."

She was going to do this.

She had to.

"Excellent." Touko said approvingly. "So, what is the setting? Where are you two going to be?"

"The Rose Mansion second floor meeting room. We are going to get there before everyone else and be there when Rei-chan and Sachiko-sama arrive."

"What about Shimako-sama and Noriko?"

Yoshino shook her head. "They are busy after class on Monday; I asked them yesterday. It should be just the four of us." She stuck her tongue out at Yumi. "Perfect for our plan."

"Alright. So then I would suggest you two sitting on chairs beside each other when they arrive." She gestured to the bed, silently telling Yumi to sit next to Yoshino. Yumi did so, albeit slowly and carefully. "I assume you two haven't really ever done this before?" Both girls shook their heads. "I figured as much. Very well, I will talk you through the motions. Yumi-sama, Yoshino-sama, please excuse me."

She first year bowed slightly and, almost too suddenly for Yumi to react to, she grabbed Yoshino's hand and pushed it against Yumi's breast.

"Kyaa!" Yumi let out a light squeal and sat back from Yoshino and Touko, holding her hands over her chest protectively. After a moment, her thoughts caught up with her and she returned to sitting normally, her face burning brightly. "Sorry…" She mumbled quietly.

Touko bowed again, a simple motion of her head. "I apologize again. I felt as though that would be the best way to 'break the ice', I guess you could say. Yumi-sama, you were very stiff and nervous. In acting, when you have to perform something that you might find embarrassing or unfamiliar, sometimes it's best to just try it and get it over with quickly so you are used to it. Now it should be a little easier for you."

Yumi took a shaky breath, smiling lopsidedly. "Ah… I understand, Touko-chan. You sure know a lot." The girl shrugged nonchalantly.

"About acting, anyway." She looked at Yoshino. "Yoshino-sama?" Yoshino was sitting still, staring at her hand and a blank look on her face. After a few quiet moments of Yumi fidgeting beside her friend, Touko cleared her throat. "Yoshino-sama, shall we continue?" Yoshino blinked and shook her head, thrusting her hand down to her lap. Her ears had a light pink twinge to them.

"Huh? Oh… y-yea! Haha!" She laughed, a kind of forced, choked laugh that reminded Yumi of her brother when he was caught doing something bad. "Where were we?"

Touko looked at her two upperclassmen. Yumi, who sat beside Yoshino, fidgeting like a child in an altogether uncomfortable situation and Yoshino, who was laughing and blushing embarrassingly.

This was going to be a long, interesting day.

0 – 0 – 0

Yumi and Yoshino were in the second floor of the Rose Mansion on Monday afternoon. After the final class bell had rung, the two had all but run to the Rose Mansion in a fevered attempt to make it there before Sachiko and Rei. They had made it there with time to spare, as the two older girls always took their time to make it after class at the start of the week.

"Alright, I think we are good to go." Yoshino said as she shut the door behind her.

"Mmm…" Yumi made a sound as she started to make tea out of habit. She stood at the kitchenette in an attempt to keep herself from shaking uncontrollably. It wasn't the fact that tea was especially difficult to make… but the fact that she and Yoshino were actually going to _go through_ with their plan to get Sachiko and Rei jealous is what made her scared. The fear made a slightly sick feeling in Yumi's stomach churn.

"You alright, Yumi-chan?" She heard Yoshino's voice from behind her, at least a meter or so away.

"Yea… I'm alright." She answered distantly. She was, really… Yumi was really alright. It was just a lot to prepare for. They had practiced for this all day the previous day. And with Touko's excellent tutoring on body language, facial expressions, and blocking (a term she used for the movement and positioning of actors on the stage), they had somehow gotten their performance up to 'passing' in the underclassmen's eyes.

Touko had been surprisingly knowledgeable about the particulars of what they had to do, actually. It really shocked Yumi when Yoshino had asked her "How the _hell_ do you know how I am supposed to grab her there?" and the younger girl had replied with a shrug and an "I'm not exactly sure, myself. It's just an educated guess. I never even watched any porn before."

It had been somewhat uncomfortable for Yumi at first, to do all that with Yoshino. They didn't do _a lot_, really, but still more that what she would have considered 'acceptable'. They tried to keep it tactful, as well. They wanted to make Sachiko and Rei jealous, not push them away by going overboard. But, they had eventually gotten it down, and came to school the next day ready to put on their little 'performance'.

"I'm ready." Yumi said again, more confidently this time. "This will work, won't it?" She turned to Yoshino, who was standing in front of her with a confident look on her face.

"Definitely, Yumi-chan. It will definitely work. Just you watch." She smirked and held out her hand to Yumi's cheek. Yumi didn't flinch or pull away. A small touch on the cheek was nothing now, anyway. "You sure you are alright with this?" Yumi let out an exasperated breath.

"You're asking this _now_?" She asked incredulously. "Great timing, Yoshino-san!"

"Yoshino-_chan_!" Yoshino hissed and, with a quick movement she pressed her mouth up against Yumi's, kissing her. Yumi didn't even have time to react as the felt Yoshino pull face away from hers, and led her to one of the chairs set at alongside the table. Yoshino pushed her on the hard, wooden chair and, in a move that surprised Yumi, threw her leg over Yumi's, straddling her.

"Y-Yoshino-chan!" Yumi yelped, her eyes wide a saucers. This position wasn't what they had really practiced, and Yumi didn't quite know what to do.

"Shh…" Yoshino held her finger to her lips and leaned her head beside Yumi's ear. "Don't worry… it will work." Her low voice sent a tickling sensation down Yumi's back, causing her to shiver involuntarily.

"B-but I-" Yumi began, her voice coming out in a high pitched squeal. Yoshino sighed in frustration and pressed her lips to Yumi's again, silencing her. Yumi struggled against Yoshino for a few moments, but in the end, gave up and accepted the improvisation her friend had come up with. Sachiko and Rei would get there soon anyway.

Yoshino seemed to realize that Yumi stopped resisting, and her kiss became gentler, closer to what they had practiced the previous day. The two girls stayed that way for a few long moments, their lips pressed together, until Yoshino pulled her mouth away to take a breath.

"Alright?" She asked softly.

"Mmm." Yumi nodded and exhaled deeply, trying desperately to get rid of her nervousness.

"Good…" Yoshino said and pressed her lips to Yumi's again. She leaned her body against hers, causing Yumi to reach around Yoshino's body with her hand and grab the back of her uniform reflexively. Something that Yumi had learned yesterday, actually, was that she had a habit of grabbing someone's back to pull them closer when like this. She never really knew about this, but Touko had highly approved of this action, saying that it made the whole thing 'much more believable'.

Not that Yumi could control it, anyway. Most of what she had ended up practicing with Yoshino yesterday came naturally. Touko had just gave them advice on blocking, some subtle tutoring on how to place certain parts of your body, and how to look when finally caught in the act (all of which had been highly embarrassing). But as Yumi sat there in the Rose Mansion, under Yoshino, all of what Touko had said to her yesterday flew out of her mind in a few short seconds.

Yumi distantly heard a soft moan escape her throat as Yoshino kissed her again. She wasn't even aware of it until Yoshino chuckled into her mouth, and reach down to her free hand, intertwining her fingers together with her own.

"Yoshino-san…" Yumi breathed when her friend pulled away to kiss her jaw.

"Yoshino…_chan_…" She whispered, kissing down Yumi's jawline to her neck. Yumi tensed her body when Yoshino reached the base of her neck, and she sucked in a breath sharply. "Hmm… That didn't happen yesterday…" She giggled, and kissed her neck again.

"Kya!" Yumi let out a soft sound, tensing up her legs in response. The movement of her legs caused Yoshino to suck in a short breath, and she pushed her body more tightly up against Yumi's, moving her mouth towards her collarbone. Yumi felt herself lean her head to the side, letting Yoshino push the collar of her uniform aside and move freely across to her shoulder. Her friend obliged by nibbling softly on the skin of her shoulder, eliciting another twitch from Yumi's body.

She suddenly felt a chill as Yoshino's hand slid in through the bottom of her uniform's top, and rested on the skin of her stomach. Yumi exhaled again, this time a somewhat shallower breath. She was somewhat more used to it now, but the feeling of Yoshino's hand on her stomach still sent a tickling feeling through her body.

Yumi felt her friend's fingers skate across her stomach, sending another twitch down to her legs. Yoshino groaned softly against Yumi's shoulder, squeezing her legs tightly around Yumi in response.

_She's… getting more into it than yesterday…_ Yumi thought sluggishly as Yoshino came back from her shoulder to press her lips against her own, a little more roughly this time. While Yoshino had been sure of herself yesterday while they practiced, she had been noticeably reserved and hesitant. Yumi had been much more hesitant, of course, in comparison. But she had been surprised about how _not forward_ Yoshino was. Yumi chalked it up to because Touko had been there breathing down their necks.

Now though…

Yumi groaned reflexively when she felt Yoshino's hand reach up to cup her breast firmly. She immediately felt herself color in response. She hadn't meant to make such a loud noise. She normally would have been extremely embarrassed, but when Yoshino looked at her and smirked lightly, Yumi's embarrassment went out the window.

Yumi, pulling her hand up from Yoshino's back to her head, brought her back into a heated kiss. Yoshino returned the action, sighing softly into Yumi's mouth. She felt Yoshino slip her tongue through her lips (something they actually hadn't tried yesterday, as it happened) and immediately found herself meeting it with her own. Acting purely on reflex, she didn't really know what to exactly do. But Yumi didn't let it stop her and she moaned into Yoshino's mouth, her tongue gently touching her friend's.

"Yumi-chan…" Yoshino whispered, pulling her mouth away from Yumi's. Yumi didn't respond, but instead let go of Yoshino's hand and raked her nails up to her thigh, causing Yoshino to squirm slightly on top of her. "Ah…" She breathed out slowly, giving Yumi's breast a squeeze with her hand.

Yumi felt herself whimper and look up at Yoshino. Her friend looked down at her with an unreadable expression, but an unmistakable flush across her face. The two stared at each other for a few long moments, not really moving. Then, as if something had given her a push, Yoshino leaned back into another kiss, caressing Yumi's breast with one hand, and with her other hand deftly reaching up through Yumi's pleated skirt.

Feeling her legs press together unconsciously, Yumi whimpered again as Yoshino's hand found its way underneath her own legs and up to Yumi's thighs. She could hear her own heart thumb madly in her chest under Yoshino's hand, as it just occurred to her that Yoshino hadn't gone farther than this yesterday. Anything else would be…

Would be…

_I want Yoshino to…_

"Wha-?!"

A loud voice suddenly cut through the fog in Yumi's head like a blade. Yumi felt Yoshino pull away from her lips fiercely, and her hands left her breast and out from her skirt, causing a chill to suddenly spring up in its sudden absence. Yumi blinked up at Yoshino for a moment, the only thought in her head being why she had stopped. Then the realization struck her like a bolt of lightning.

_Onee-sama!_

She followed Yoshino's gaze towards the doorway so see it wide open, with two people frozen in the process of entering the room.

One, tall and short haired, slightly masculine but still beautiful. Rei Hasekura.

The other, long and dark hair. Dark blue eyes. A shocked, wide-eyed stare. Sachiko Ogasawara.

Yumi's grande soeur.

All of what Touko had told her about facial expressions and how she should react was forgotten as she stared at her Onee-sama's horrified expression.

0 – 0 – 0

Gahhh! I LOVE CLIFFHANGERS!

Please don't hate me everyone! I jacked up the rating to "M" for a reason! _

The next chapter should be interesting, I think. I hope to have it up in the next few days to a week. Please R & R about your thoughts on the chapter and the progression! Your ideas and thoughts only serve to make the story better! ;-)

Peace mah homies!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own MariMite. Too bad, right? Nahh if I did own it, it would be vastly not as cool as it really is. Truly

A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys and gals! I reeeeeally appreciate it! You guys ROCK!

I wanna apologize for the cliffhanger last chapter. To make up for it, here is the next chapter; nice and quick! Thanks for reading, y'all! Unfortunately, This chapter might piss off a lot of you. Those of you purists out there might be miffed, and to those of you I am deeply sorry T_T. I LOVE random pairings, and I go out of my way to find stories and come up with non-purist pairings so... yea. I'm sorry, this was and will continue to be a Yumino fic... However! If you guys continue to read, I will be forever grateful and be there in spirit for all of your birthdays. True story! :-) Spread the luv.

Oh yea, BTW, thanks for not ripping me apart for the s3xxin3ss the last chapter. that was kinda my first time writing anything "sexy" or whatever so... yea... much obliged. ;-P

On with the show!

**Revenge is a Dish...**

**Chapter 4**

0 – 0 – 0

The second floor of the Rose Mansion was still for a long time. No one moved, and no one said anything. The only sound to be heard was the slightly heavy breathing coming from the two second years, Yumi and Yoshino, both of whom were still wound tightly together on a chair beside the table.

Yumi looked around, as slowly as she dared to the other girls. Yoshino, who was sitting on top of her, was as still as Yumi, her arms rigid at her side. The girl held an expression that Yumi knew she mirrored; one of shock and mild surprise. They knew the older girls would be coming, but that still didn't lessen the feeling of embarrassment of getting caught in the act. Yoshino stared at Sachiko and Rei much the same that a deer would be staring at approaching headlights.

Sachiko and Rei, likewise, had identical expressions of shock and horror. They knew exactly what they had walked into. But knowing the situation didn't make it any easier to accept. Their shock quickly disappeared, leaving only horror and, what Yumi interpreted as anger.

"Uh-uwah…" Yumi made a noise in an attempt to say something… anything. "O-Onee-sama…" That was all she was able to get out before Rei stepped quickly past Sachiko, her eyes tight and her hands balled tightly into fists. The short haired third year grabbed Yoshino by the arm and firmly pulled her off Yumi's lap, causing the girl to cry out.

"Ah! R-Rei-chan! Wh-what are you-"

"Quiet, Yoshino!" Rei hissed to her cousin as she pulled her swiftly out of the room.

The door slammed behind them, leaving Yumi alone with her grande soeur in the meeting room. Yumi took a moment to adjust her uniform, making it as neat as possible. Her shaking hands made it difficult to re-tie her scarf, and she fumbled with it a few times before Sachiko's quiet voice cut into her ears.

"Stand up, Yumi…" Yumi looked up to see her Onee-sama staring at the table, a slightly tired and completive look on her face.

"O-Onee-sama…?" She asked, her voice shaky and unsure. Sachiko gestured with her hands to stand up. Yumi did so, but the numb feeling in her legs made it difficult. She ended up pushing off of the table with her hands, finally succeeding on standing on her own two feet. She turned towards Sachiko to find her in front of her. The older girl reached up to Yumi's scarf, and began to fix the piece of cloth slowly.

"Yumi…" She said quietly. Yumi shut her eyes, feeling a stirring of sadness in chest. The way Sachiko said her name sounded painful to her ears. She just stood there silently while her Onee-sama worked with her scarf, not quite knowing what to say or do. She knew why she and Yoshino had done what they did. She had finally gotten Sachiko alone with her, and she had actually said more to Yumi in those few seconds that what she had done the past few weeks. There had been tremendous progress…

But…

Yumi felt a painful sting behind her eyes, and a heavy pressure in her chest. The pressure made it difficult to breath, and she held her eyes closed as tightly as she could. But, even though her eyes were shut as much as she could manage, she felt warm tears seep through her eyelids. The feeling of tears were too much for her, and the pressure in her chest burst, causing a sob to break out of her throat painfully.

Sachiko's hands stopped working at her scarf at the sound, and Yumi opened her eyes to find her grande soeur looking away from her eyes, pointed down in a corner of the room. She wouldn't look at her. The pressure in her chest caused another sob to escape her lips, and she reached up to grab Sachiko's hands.

"O-Onee…sama…" She said, her voice sad and pleading. "D-do you… hate me…?" Sachiko blinked and looked back into Yumi's eyes, a surprised and hurt look on her face. Yumi felt hot tears roll down her cheeks, and wanted to wipe them away, but didn't let go of the older girl's hands. She stared into Sachiko's dark blue eyes, trying to ignore the burning sensation making her blink away her tears. When she didn't answer, Yumi choked out another sob. "Onee-sama!" She cried, clutching her hands tighter.

Yumi felt herself being pulled into a soft embrace, and a pair or thin arms wrapped around her shoulders. Sachiko's uniform rubbed against her face softly, letting the older girl's scent wash over Yumi's senses. The quietly sobbing girl sucked in a few short breaths, and let herself be help by her Onee-sama. All of the feelings Yumi had been keeping in over the past few weeks; the sadness, the frustration, the loneliness, the worry… all of it came out as she cried against Sachiko's chest in the meeting room. The older girl just stood there, letting her petite soeur cry away in her arms, rubbing her hands up and down the girl's back softly.

After a while, Yumi's sobbing slowed and she settled for sniffing against Sachiko's uniform. She hiccupped a couple times and stepped back away from the black-haired girl, looking at the ground sadly.

"Thank you…" She whispered softly.

"Of course, Yumi."

Yumi stood there for a long minute, waiting for Sachiko to leave the room, as she usually would. But when the older girl didn't move, she looked up to see her continuing to stare into her own eyes. She reached up to wipe her nose, but ceased when Sachiko reached into her skirt pocket, and withdrew a laced handkerchief. She held it out to Yumi, who giggled in spite of herself.

"Thank you." She said, taking the piece of cloth and blowing her nose into it. "I will be sure to wash it and return it to you, Onee-sama."

"Take your time, Yumi." Sachiko said, smiling slightly. She turned her body towards the table and held her hand out to the chair she had been sitting on. "I think we should talk. Please sit down while I make some tea." Yumi blinked a few times and shook her head, her arms stiff at her side. Her Onee-sama finally wanted to talk!

"U-uh… n-no, Onee-sama! I will make tea, p-please sit down!" She stammered, blushing slightly. Sachiko looked down at her sternly, and shook her head.

"I want to do a service for my petite soeur. Would you allow me?"

Yumi couldn't really decline her when she said it like that. The girl sighed inwardly and nodded, quietly sitting down at the table. She heard Sachiko walk over to the kitchenette and turn on the faucet, pouring a measured amount of water into the tea kettle to boil. She distantly found herself wondering what kind of tea Sachiko would make. Jasmine? English tea? Orange? Lemon? Chamomile? They had many different kinds in the Rose Mansion, as every member of the Yamayurikai had a different preference and brought an assortment of tea in for use.

Even as she tried to occupy her mind with thoughts of tea, the adrenaline from what had happened began to leave her system, leaving her hands shaking slightly. She shut her eyes, trying to make sense of what had happened. Sachiko was going to finally talk to her… but what about? About her and Yumi? About their soeur relationship? About the past few weeks? About… about Yumi and Yoshino?

Yoshino…

The thought of her friend brought a tight feeling into her stomach.

What had happened there at the end? The plan had been to get caught when the two of them were… well… doing _that_… and that had certainly succeeded. But, there at the end, just before they had been caught, Yumi was certain that she had forgotten about Sachiko and Rei catching them. The two of them were following the plan… at least as far as she could really tell. And then, they had stopped for a moment. Yumi remembered looking at her friend, and then it was like a white fog… or something… came into Yumi's mind and kept out all other thoughts except for Yoshino. It was as if the two of them both forgot about the plan entirely. At least… Yumi had. As far as Yoshino was concerned… there was no real way to know right now.

But why? Why did she feel that way?

She shook her head, trying to remember what exactly she had been thinking. The details were all clear to her, but she still had trouble identifying why exactly she had reacted in such a way. How could she have forgotten about the plan? About Sachiko? About how it was a way to get Yumi and Yoshino's Onee-sama to pay attention to them again? It was the entire reason they had even… done _that_.

So why?

_Because I liked it?_

Yumi heard her own voice in her head, swimming up through the sea of her thoughts. She grimaced and shook her head. It was ridiculous. It had been an act, hadn't it? She and Yoshino had practiced all day the yesterday for it, and even gotten Touko to help them prepare for it. It was an act, a performance; a way to meet an ends. She couldn't have liked it. Yoshino wasn't really her 'girlfriend', just her friend. Not only that, but she was another girl. So it was simply ridiculous.

But, even as she tried to reason with herself, her thoughts kept turning back to how she had felt during the 'act'. The feeling of Yoshino on top of her... The feeling of her lips on her own… Yoshino softly biting her shoulder… her hand on her breast…

Yumi shuddered quietly, and her arms crossed over her chest reflexively. She instinctively knew she was blushing, from the sudden feeling of heat in her cheeks. The feeling had been very different from when they had been coached by Touko. With Touko watching them and telling them how to move and look, it had been like rehearsing for the Cinderella play she had participated in the previous year… only much more awkward and embarrassing. But just now, with no Touko there to tell them what to do… Yumi (and Yoshino, presumably) had acted on impulse.

And because of that, at the end, she had been too wrapped up in the act of being intimate with her friend to remember why they had even decided to do that. Yumi couldn't decide if she should be extremely ashamed by that, or confused. She ended up deciding on confusion.

But, she knew one thing for sure; it had been one of the most exciting and intense moments of her life.

Just as she wondered if Yoshino had felt the same, Sachiko set a cup of tea down in front of Yumi, the china making a soft 'clink' as it set on the wooden table.

"Would you like a cake, or a pastry?" Sachiko asked softly. Yumi shook her head and reached out for the cut of tea, taking a short sip. It was Jasmine tea. Sachiko sat herself down beside Yumi and took a reserved sip of her own tea. The two girls sat silently for a few minutes, making sure to finish their tea, before setting the cups back down on the table. "Do you feel better now, Yumi?"

Yumi nodded quietly. "Mmm…" She mumbled, looking at the large table, examining a few of the cracks in the hard, lacquered wood. "You… said you wanted to talk?" She said, letting her eyes slide towards the older girl. Sachiko nodded, giving her empty cut a turn with her fingers.

"Yes… But first, I think I owe you an apology, Yumi." Yumi turned her head towards Sachiko, her eyes wide. She opened her mouth to speak, but the older girl hushed her with a hand. "I know I have been a poor Onee-sama these past few weeks. Well, maybe longer than that… I have been avoiding you… not talking to you... not spending time with you… indeed, you must have felt horrible. I know this because I would have felt the same if I was in your situation."

"B-but, Onee-sama… if you knew… then _why_?" Yumi asked, turning her whole body towards Sachiko. The older girl sighed and turned her head to the side, as if deciding something. Finally, her shoulders fell.

"I couldn't trust myself around you, actually. I know myself too well. I knew if I was around you, or talked to you, then I would ruin the whole plan." Sachiko leaned down to pick up her schoolbag, and rifled around through it.

"Couldn't trust yourself? Ruin the whole plan? What whole plan?" Yumi was honestly confused, her head a mess of different thoughts. Just what exactly was Sachiko trying to say to her?

"I was afraid…" Sachiko said as she set a brown manila envelope on the table. "That I would ruin this. Go ahead; open it. I was going to show this to you today anyway, as it were. Everything was finished this weekend."

Yumi blinked up at the black-haired girl for a few moments, and then took the envelope, opening it with a twist of the twine that sealed it. There were quite a lot of papers in it, all color-coded and neatly labeled. It was all, apparently and obviously, assembled by Sachiko herself. Some papers were clipped together, many of which were multi-sheet forms that had been filled out. She leafed through a few of them, quickly spying her name and some information of hers on them. Name, birthday, home address, close relations, blood type, her latest health screening results…

"How did you…?" She started to ask, but stopped when she came across what looked suspiciously like- "My… passport? You actually got my passport?" She asked, holding it up to Sachiko. The older girl looked sheepish.

"I asked your mother and father to help me."

"M-my mother and father…?" Yumi breathed. Just what _exactly_ was going on?

"Keep looking, Yumi." Sachiko said.

Yumi turned back to the stack of papers. There were copies of her passport, and what looked like application forms filled out on her behalf. Taking a closer look at the application forms, she noticed that they were, in fact, Visa application forms.

"A travel Visa to… The United States?" Yumi gasped, looking up at Sachiko.

"Not only there. Keep looking."

Yumi flipped to the next clipped application form. Her eyes widened. "Canada… China… Russia… Italy?!" She felt her stomach flip over uncomfortably in her stomach as she continued to read the different countries of which she not had travel Visas for. "France… Switzerland… Germany… Spain… Great Britain? O-Onee-sama, what is all this?!" She cried out, slamming the papers down on the table loudly. Sachiko sighed, a self-reproachful look on her face.

"I was planning a trip around the world for us… just the two of us… for the past month or two." She said, avoiding Yumi's eyes. "I got the idea a bit after we spent time together at my family summer home, but kept getting interrupted by everyone. I thought… well… I thought that if it were just the two of us travelling next summer, after I graduate, then it would be time well-spent together." She smiled, looking back at Yumi. "Because we will not be able to see each other as much after that."

Yumi couldn't breathe. It was all too much. A trip around the world with her Onee-sama! It was almost everything she had ever dreamed. So many different countries and places to see… so many different people to meet and things to do… She couldn't help the feeling of excitement and happiness that exploded in her stomach. She choked out another sob, this time, smiling.

"Onee-sama! I don't know what to say…"

Sachiko smiled and held out her hand to Yumi's cheek. "I am sorry I made you so lonely. I was wrong to keep it from you that way. I understand that. Can you forgive me?"

"Onee-sama!" Yumi cried, fresh tears streaming down her face. She plunged her face into Sachiko's uniform, still wet from her previous sobbing fit. Sachiko held Yumi as she cried into her chest for a long time, keeping silent as usual. But this time, it was a nice silence. It was a warm, loving silence that Yumi knew could only come from Sachiko. As Yumi cried softly, happily, into her Onee-sama, she knew that they were going to be alright from now on.

She knew deep inside that Sachiko did not hate her.

Sachiko was her Onee-sama. She would always be there for her. She knew it.

After calming down, Yumi sat back into her chair, rubbing her nose with Sachiko's handkerchief. She smiled happily up at the black-haired girl, who smiled back at her.

"Onee-sama… thank you. I missed you so much." Yumi said, hiccupping again. Sachiko giggled and stroked her cheek.

"I know. I missed you too. I promise I will not ever ignore you again like that." Yumi nodded, and stood up.

"I'll get you some more tea, Onee-sama." She picked up their emptied cup and made her way to the still-warm kettle. Yumi poured the water into the cups and scooped out new tea leaves, letting the leaves stew slowly as she walked back to the table to set the cups back onto the hard wood. She sat down to find Sachiko gauging her with her eyes speculatively.

"I have a question, if I may, Yumi."

"Onee-sama?

Sachiko thought for a moment, as if trying to find the best way to ask. Then, she seemed to give up. "It's about Yoshino-san."

Yumi felt her hands freeze as she reached for her tea. She had almost forgotten about Yoshino. Their entire plan had been for the purpose of getting their Onee-sama to both pay attention to them again. As for as she and Sachiko were concerned, the plan had succeeded… hadn't it? Sachiko had just said that she had planned to tell her about her plans today, so didn't that mean her and Yoshino's plan had been for nothing? The time spent with Yoshino had been for nothing? What… she two of them had done together… was for nothing?

"Are you two really together?" Sachiko asked softly. Yumi clutched her hands together tightly in an effort to keep them from shaking. Sachiko slowly reached her hand over, and covered Yumi's hands with her own. "It's alright Yumi. Just tell me the truth."

Something about the way she said it, Yumi felt as though she could tell Sachiko everything. She could tell her everything, and Sachiko would smile and listen, just like she used to do.

"Yoshino and I had both been feeling lonely and ignored by you and Rei-sama, Onee-sama…" Yumi said quietly. "So we came up with the idea so start… well… kind of 'dating' in an effort to make you two jealous."

"_Kind of_ dating?" Sachiko asked.

"Well… it wasn't real. We were pretending to date. We thought it would make you two jealous, and pay more attention to us." She looked up at Sachiko, feeling a sick feeling well up in her stomach. "I'm sorry, Onee-sama… it was a stupid idea… I was just so upset that you weren't talking to me… Every time you looked at me it was as if you didn't want to see me…" Sachiko shook her head, her sad look returning to her eyes.

"No, do not apologize, Yumi. It was entirely my fault. I shouldn't have treated you like that." Her lips curled up into a light smile. "Although, both Rei-san and I were quite surprised at first. We truly did think it was genuine; you two dating each other."

"R-really?" Yumi asked, her eyes wide. "But I'm a horrible actress…" Touko's words came out as Yumi giggled softly.

"Well, yes. We were completely fooled. You two get along so well together, it was completely plausible. At first Rei-san was against it… as was I, for that matter…" She shrugged. "But, last Sunday we talked for a while, and finally agreed that you two are your own women, and deserved to make your own decisions. And then there was today…" She lowered her voice, looking down at her tea. Yumi swallowed against her suddenly-dry throat, her stomach somersaulted painfully.

"T-today...? Uh… today was…" Yumi stammered, desperately trying to come up with some sort of explanation. She wanted to find something believable, and close to the truth. But she also didn't want to involve Touko in it. She settled with making sure Sachiko was alright. "Are… you angry with me?"

Sachiko's eyes widened and she looked back at Yumi. "Angry? No, of course not. I was just shocked to see… you two doing that. I didn't expect it, and neither did Rei-san… I do hope the two of them are alright…" She said absently, looking back towards the door Rei had recently departed from, all but dragging Yoshino with her. "But, what I was surprised of most wasn't the fact that you two were together like that…" She turned back to Yumi, a serious look in her dark blue eyes.

"It was the fact that… despite the fact that you say you are horrible actress, you looked very natural with Yoshino-san."

Yumi stared at Sachiko for a long minute, the older girl's words working their way into her mind. Natural? With Yoshino? They were friends, of course. They spent a lot of time together; they even spend all day Sunday practicing for… well… _that_. But… somehow she didn't think that was what Sachiko had meant.

"What… do you mean by natural?" Yumi asked, confused. Sachiko grimaced slightly, as if trying to come up with the right words to use.

"… Never mind, Yumi. " She shook her head and took a sip from her tea. Yumi stared after Sachiko for a few moments, until it became clear that she would not elaborate. She reached for her own tea, following the older girl's lead in drinking the now lukewarm liquid.

"I… see…" Yumi said softly. "But, now that you are talking to me again, we don't need to keep up the act anymore. Things can go back to normal around here." She looked at Sachiko with a smile. "Right?"

The black-haired Ogasawara heiress was silent for a while, quietly sipping her tea. Yumi followed suit, not wanted to ruin the comfortable mood surrounding them. It was just like before, after all. When Sachiko had finished her tea, and reached out and softly stroked Yumi's cheek.

"Always remember, Yumi. I will forever be your Onee-sama, alright? Whatever decision you make, I will support you in every way I can."

Yumi smiled happily and nodded, taking the declaration to her heart.

"Thank you, Onee-sama!"

0 – 0 – 0

After the tea was all finished, Yumi and Sachiko left the Rose Mansion, the Yamayurikai work for the day all but forgotten in lieu of recent events. But that was fine; everything would keep until the next day. The two red rose sisters exited the two-story building to find Yoshino waiting outside the front door, a neutral smile on her face, but her eyes red; she had been recently crying, just the same as Yumi.

Sachiko turned her head towards Yumi. "I will go on ahead home. Take your time, you two. Until tomorrow, Yumi, Yoshino-san. Gokigenyou." She smiled at the two second years, and walked towards the entrance of the school. Yumi and Yoshino stood a few feet away from each other, not quite knowing what to say. After a long minute, Yoshino chose to break the silence.

"Good news?" She asked, avoiding Yumi's eyes.

"Mmm…" Yumi replied softly. She held her school bag in front of her skirt nervously. "Onee-sama and I made up. We will be fine. And… you and Rei-sama?" Yoshino tilted her head to the side, her eyes traveling around the area.

"Yea… we are cool now. It turns out she was taking a bunch of extra-curricular classes for her university entrance exams…"

Yumi blinked curiously. "Exams? She isn't going to Lillian?" Yoshino shook her head, a conflicted expression on her face.

"Doesn't look like it. She wanted to go somewhere else for a different choice in majors. She just didn't know how to tell me. So… she just kinda went AWOL on interacting with me… for lack of a better term." She smirked lightly, still avoiding Yumi's eyes. "I hit her a bunch, though, don't worry. She's gonna be limping to school for a good week or two."

Yumi giggled softly. "That's good. So you two are alright now?

"Yea, yea. We are fine. We straitened some things out. I told her how I felt recently. And she told me what she has been doing and thinking… We both realized some things… and well, yea. Things should be alright now."

"Good."

"Yea…"

Yoshino and Yumi stood there for a bit longer, the awkward silence quite obvious to Yumi. She found it extremely uncomfortable, but didn't know how to get around it. She finally couldn't stand it anymore, and shifted her weight from one foot to the other in an effort to keep from shaking.

"So…" She tried to breach the silence.

"So, that means we don't have to act as a couple anymore." Yoshino stated, shrugging. Yumi blinked at her friend, confused. Don't have to act as a couple anymore? What did that mean? "We got what we wanted, right? Rei-chan and Sachiko-sama are going to talk to us again, right? So… yea! Go us!" She held up two fingers in a "V" sign, but the gesture seemed a bit uninspired to Yumi.

"Um… yes… We did it. We got what we wanted." Yumi agreed, a feeling she could tentatively identify as nervousness coiling itself deep in her stomach. "So… you're right. We don't have to act anymore." A muscle in Yoshino's cheek twitched, and her lips curled up into a small smile.

"Alright… cool. Then, I'll go home, yea?" She picked up her schoolbag and sighed. "See you tomorrow, Yumi-san." She gave a small wave and, turning away from Yumi, began to walk towards the front gate of Lillian.

Yumi stared after Yoshino, a feeling of wanting to go after her screaming in the back of her mind. But, at the same time, her feet wouldn't move. _Go after her…? Why…?_ The ideas tugged at each other; go after her, let her go, stay here, call out… all of them pushed and pulled at her body, none of them really winning.

"See you… tomorrow… Yoshino…san…" She said stiffly. It was all she could manage. Her friend didn't turn back or wave towards her; she just walked away from the Rose Mansion.

Yumi continued to look at Yoshino's back until she disappeared from view, and then when she finally had, Yumi's legs lost their strength. She collapsed on the ground. Taking a deep breath, the sick feeling in the body unwound, bringing a fresh wave of tears back from behind her eyes. She choked out a quiet sob, and held her arms across her chest tightly. There she cried for a long time, by herself, in front of the Rose Mansion. Thoughts of Sachiko, Rei, Shimako, Noriko, Touko, her friends swimming around the mire in her head. Thoughts of Yoshino bringing about feelings she had no way of understanding.

Why was she feeling like this? Why was she crying? Why didn't she go after Yoshino?

"Why…" Yumi cried, her tears dripping on the ground, staining the concrete path a dark, wet grey. "Why didn't you look at me, Yoshino-chan…?"

0 – 0 – 0

Dawww makes me sad... T-T

Don't worry guys! I wouldn't let it end like that! Don't lose faith yet! There WILL be a nice, happy Yumino ending!

Read and Review! Your reviews only serve to make the story better! (not to mention your reviews keep me young and handsome an extra year for every one I get. Much the same as blood does for vampires. Oh SNAP!)

Peace!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own MariMite. Too bad, right? Nahh if I did own it, it would be vastly not as cool as it really is. Truly

A/N: Alright, here is chapter 5!

A few of you might be thinking, *author... this story seems to be going pretty quickly...* and you would be correct. I am a no-filler no-nonsense person when it comes to writing, and I like to get to the point. Not to mention I am somewhat of an amateur with writing and I simply do not have the skill to stretch out my thoughts into drawn-out stories. For that I deeply apologize =.= Anyway, I still hope many of you enjoy Revenge for what it is, even if it seems... ah... whats the word... condense? Sure, close enough. Anyway, that's what I think.

This chapter might be pretty intense for some of you, and I'm really sorry if it seems a little OOC. I dont REALLY intend it, I just kinda wrote the closest to how I think the characters would act, considering the fact that they are 16/17 years old, and just a BIT frustrated. Anyway, pay it no mind and try to enjoy ;-)

On with the show!

**Revenge is a Dish...**

**Chapter 5**

0 – 0 – 0

Yumi made her way through the gateway of Lillian Academy for Women after stepping off from her usual bus stop. Letting out a soft, almost inaudible sigh, she carefully avoided the as-of-yet still unsquashed ginko nuts on the way to the figure of Maria-sama. As she approached the statue, a few other students were already there. Some other second years, a few first years, and one girl she didn't recognize; most likely a third year.

Yumi stopped in front of the statue and put her hands together in prayer. It was her usual routine, as it was to every single one of her fellow students of Lillian. But today, Yumi felt as though she needed to pray to Maria-sama. For the past week and a half, Yumi's daily life had returned to the way it had been before Sachiko had started to ignore her. Her Onee-sama was smiling at her again. She was talking with her again. They had even met during the weekend and gone shopping for a new sweater. That alone should have made Yumi ecstatic.

But, things going back to the way things were before also meant that-

"Gokigenyou, Yumi-san."

The cool voice came from beside her, causing her spine to stiffen. The voice was all-too familiar, but it still hurt Yumi to hear it spoken in that tone. Nevertheless, she dutifully turned towards the speaker. As she turned, the small frame of Yoshino came into view. Her dark hair neatly braided on either side of her head. Her eyes were closed and her hands were pressed together in front of her in prayer, similar to how Yumi's were at that moment.

"Good morning Yoshino…san." Yumi said softly, after a moment of hesitation. She cast her eyes diligently over Yoshino's face as the girl stood beside her. She looked peaceful and passive enough, but something about the way her jaw was set and her shoulders stiff gave the idea the she either was annoyed in some way, or that she hadn't had enough sleep. Not that Yumi had plenty of sleep lately recently, as it happened.

It was how the two girls had identically looked ever since their little performance the previous week. Yoshino had come to school the day after, looking worse for the wear, but still her usual plucky, energetic self. She happily conversed with Rei, Sachiko, Shimako, Noriko and Touko. In fact, it seemed at first glance that she was even happier because Rei was actively talking to and interacting with her again. But, as the days passed, she came to school looking more and more tired, and more and more on edge. The next Saturday, she had actually verbally snapped at Shimako. She had apologized immediately, but still felt bad about it, and remained quiet for the rest of the day. Everyone knew she wasn't getting enough sleep. She just wouldn't tell anyone why.

Looking at Yoshino out of the corner of her eye, Yumi knew that she looked just as tired as her friend did. Ever since that day, Yumi had been lucky to get two to three hours of interrupted sleep a night. The first night she hadn't slept at all. She had spent the entire night crying. She had cried so much earlier that day, one would think that she had run out of tears. But, even so, she cried all night long. The most maddening part, though, wasn't that she cried so long. The worst part was that Yumi didn't know _why_ she was crying.

So many different thoughts raced through her head during the night as she tried to sleep. Yoshino. Sachiko. Rei. Her friends and family. Too many to keep straight in her head. One time, after attempting sleep for four solid hours with no success, she had tried to sit and sort out her thoughts on paper. After seeing the technique in a movie once, she decided that it may help her. Yumi got as far as writing Yoshino's name down when the tears threatened to overtake her and, with a stifled cry, she crushed the paper in her hands and threw it in the wastebin.

And when she did actually fall into the relief of sleep, it was filled with conflicting thoughts of Sachiko and Yoshino.

Lots of coffee in the morning and in small doses throughout the day helped her through her lack of sleep, and had for the past week. She had never really liked coffee before; but not found that it was quite the lifesaver. Coffee and just a light application of makeup. Both of which her mother had been willing to help her with.

And so Yumi had somehow gotten through more than a week of this life. Every day she would trudge through her tired stupor to Lillian. Every day she would attend her usual classes. And every day she would go to the Rose Mansion to perform her duties. On all accounts, except for her lack of sleep, everything was normal.

Everything except for her lack of sleep… and Yoshino.

As she stared at Yoshino standing next to her, Yumi found herself idly wondering what the girl was thinking at that moment. She understood what Yoshino had told her during their short exchange outside of the Rose Mansion. She understood that now that Sachiko and Rei were talking to the two of them again, they didn't have a reason to act as a couple anymore. She understood all of that.

But still, something was wrong. Yumi didn't know what it was. But she knew something had changed.

"See you later, Yumi-san." Yoshino said beside her and, still avoiding her eyes, she continued on towards the main school building further down the wide pathway. Yumi didn't respond. She just continued to stand in front of Maria-sama, her hands held tightly together, as she watched her friends departing form. It was almost an exact replay of how Yoshino left Yumi in front of the Rose Mansion last week, after telling her that they didn't have to be 'dating' anymore. That time, too, she didn't look her in the eye, and spoke in a distant, neutral voice.

That time, too, Yumi felt the familiar stir of pain in her chest and stomach as she watched her friend walk away.

Ever since then, Yoshino had done her best to avoid Yumi. They saw each other almost every day, what with passing each other in the hallway and at the Rose Mansion. But, every time the two girls were in the same room, Yumi noticed that Yoshino went out her way to not only not look at Yumi, but actually keep as far away from her as possible. It was, to Yumi, almost the mirror-image of how Sachiko had been interacting with her before.

And it hurt. Badly.

Yumi had no idea why Yoshino had suddenly and rapidly changed, and wanted desperately to find out. But, every time she found the opportunity to breach the subject, either on the phone or when the time presented itself to get Yoshino alone, Yumi couldn't bring herself to do it. Not that she couldn't or was afraid of what Yoshino would say… but because of what she, herself, might say or do.

Yumi was confused. She had been confused ever since she had come to the sound conclusion that, while her and Yoshino's performance had been somewhat scripted and prepared for, the feelings that she had experienced with Yoshino were new, exciting and… Yumi was even a little ashamed to admit that… she had liked it.

The realization had been extremely addling at first. It had been after an uncomfortable attempt at sleep three days ago, and Yumi and awoken in a hot sweat, her breathing heavy and labored. She lay under her covers for a long time, shivering. She wasn't shivering from the cold, but from the thoughts and feelings continuing to assault her body from the aftereffects of the dream. Those kinds of dream were not necessarily new to Yumi, but the fact that the main object of it had been Yoshino was.

After calming her body down and collecting herself, Yumi changed into fresh sleeping clothes in silence and crawled back under her covers. She wrapped her arms around her legs and pressed her knees up against her chest, and cried silently to herself. She didn't really know what it meant, the feelings she had and why Yoshino was always in her thoughts both day and night. But she clearly understood that she missed her friend terribly.

She wanted Yoshino to talk to her again. She wanted Yoshino to look at her again. She wanted to be near her again.

_But is that all I want?_

Yumi's thoughts were jarred by a sudden chime from the direction of the school.

"Uwawa!" She gave a startled cry of surprise. Classes were starting! She was late!

Not forgetting to give a small bow to the figure of Maria-sama, Yumi dashed as quickly as she was able towards her morning class.

0 – 0 – 0

Yumi stood behind the door on the second floor of the Rose Mansion, her hand resting on the knob, taking a few deep, steady breaths before she entered the meeting room. It was just like every other day, she knew. Sachiko and Rei were there. Shimako and Noriko were there. Even Touko was going to be there today, for the first time in a while (although, Yumi had a feeling that the first year only took today off from her drama club to catch up on the environment after what had happened the previous week).

But Yoshino would also be there. And that is what made Yumi nervous and hesitant to enter the room. However, Yumi had a job to do. Her Onee-sama had previously told her… well, _scolded _her, actually… that she shouldn't let Yoshino get in the way of her obligations. And as Maria-sama as her witness, she would keep to that.

Squaring her shoulders, she turned the doorknob and stepped into the room. As she walked into the room, she drew idle looks of interest from the occupants; a pleased smile from Sachiko, A small wave from Shimako, A pleasant nod from Rei and Noriko, a bemused grin from Touko. Yoshino glanced in her general direction before turning her attention back to the form she had been reading.

Making an effort to keep her usual smile on her face, Yumi walked to her Onee-sama's side and took a seat. "Gokigenyou, everyone." She said with a small, tired sigh. "I hope today finds you all well."

Sachiko gave Yumi another small, reassuring smile. "Well enough, Yumi, thank you." She reached out and adjusted Yumi's scarf, taking an extra moment to cast her eyes over her petite soeur's features. Yumi sat there under Sachiko's warm, yet detail-oriented gaze, knowing full well why the older girl was looking at her so closely. Sachiko knew Yumi was distressed, and Yumi had a pretty good idea that Sachiko knew why, as well. But, luckily, the long-haired heiress had refrained from bringing the subject of Yoshino up with her.

So far, anyway.

"We don't have a lot to do today, so it should only take about an hour, Yumi-san." Shimako said from across the table, Noriko right beside her.

"I see." Yumi replied simply. A movement on the opposite side of Yumi caught her attention, and she turned her head to see Touko quietly place a warm cup of tea in front of her.

"Here you are, Yumi-sama." The drill-haired first year said, giving her a small, knowing smile.

"Uh… T-thank you, Touko-chan…" Yumi stammered, blinking at the younger girl's expression. Touko stood up straight, her hands in front of her skirt, and bowed her head slightly.

"I didn't have the chance to talk to you before, Yumi-sama. But I wanted to thank you for including me on last week's activities at your home." Yumi felt her blood freeze in her body. Her stomach gave an uncomfortable turn in her belly.

"Uh… wha-?" She sputtered, her hand halfway to the teacup in front of her.

"Well, I have been so busy recently that I haven't really been around the Rose Mansion. So I haven't had time to thank you in person." Touko cast her eyes around the room, lingering for an extra beat on Yoshino, who was coolly taking a sip from her teacup. "I do hope I was helpful to you."

There was a soft movement from Noriko and Shimako, who both had their attention drawn to the new conversation. "Oh? There was an activity? What kind of activity?" Shimako asked innocently.

Yumi felt her cheek twitch in panic. She didn't really know what Touko was up to, but she was sure that the first year had a good idea of the situation at least. She was a smart girl; smart enough to know when to leave something well enough alone.

"Yumi-sama asked for my help last Sunday, in preparation for something. Because of my drama club experience, it seemed that I was, or at least I hope, in some way helpful to Yumi-sama and Yoshino-sama."

Just then, Yoshino stood up quickly from her chair, causing the wooden legs to scrape unceremoniously against the floor.

"I'll prepare some tea." She said stiffly, and made her way to the corner kitchenette. The entire room watched her for a long moment, only to return to Touko's topic of conversation.

"A performance? Not like the graduation performance we did last year, I hope." Shimako giggle lightly, her hand in front of her mouth in an embarrassed gesture.

"No, not quite, Shimako-sama." Touko said with a smirk. "At least, if they _did_ perform it for graduation, there sure would be many people who-"

"That's _quite_ enough, Touko-chan." Sachiko's voice cut the first year off in mid-sentence. The older girl was sending a stern, cool stare at Touko. The drill-haired girl took the hint, and bowed her head to Yumi and Sachiko.

"Thank you again, Yumi-sama." She said one last time and seated herself quickly.

Yumi let out a quiet, slow breath. She would have to talk to Touko later, to straighten everything out. Not only that… but…

She threw a glance back towards the black-haired girl sitting beside her. Sachiko looked normal on the outside as she looked over a new form from the newspaper club. But Yumi knew that the news that Touko had been in on the… little performance… should be properly cleared up with her as well.

Just one more thing to take care of before she went home.

"Yoshino, please take these downstairs to the first floor room." Rei cleared her throat loudly and held out a stack of paper towards her petite soeur. "They need to be put into the box labeled 'athletic club form copies'. Don't worry about the order." Yoshino came back to her cousin from the Kitchenette with a fresh cup of tea and a somewhat relieved smile.

"Sure, Onee-sama. Not a problem." She set the cup on the table and received the papers from her cousin, taking a moment to adjust them in her hands as not to drop them as she walked. Yoshino took a few steps towards the doorway when Sachiko chimed in with a thoughtful tone.

"Actually, Yoshino-chan, could you also, while down in the first floor room, bring back the box of china we have stored down there? I nearly had forgotten; we should do well to change out the china we have here for the new season." Yoshino opened and closed her mouth a few times, and nodded slowly.

"Al… alright, Sachiko-sama."

"S-Sachiko! That box is too heavy for Yoshino!" Rei said, standing up in a flash. "I will go down and bring it back up." Before she even took one step, Sachiko held up her hand.

"I think Yumi and Yoshino will be enough to bring the box back up the stairs, don't you?" She turned her head slightly towards Yumi, a glint in her eye. "Yumi, would you please accompany Yoshino-chan?"

Yumi sat still for a moment, her eyes wide and mouth open. She shot her eyes towards Rei, who looked back at her with a conflicted expression. Touko, while still quieted from her recent scolding from Sachiko, held a smile and a light in her eyes. Shimako and Noriko both looked on in mild interest. Yoshino was standing in front of the door, her hand on the handle, looking straight ahead towards the exit.

"Yumi…?"

"Ah!" Yumi cried and shot up out of her chair. "Of course, Onee-sama. We'll be right back." Casting one final glance back at Sachiko and Rei, she followed Yoshino out of the second floor room. The two girls silently descended the stairs, and entered the first floor room.

The first floor room was generally used as extra storage and, in some cases, a practice room (as was the case for the production of 'Cinderella' the previous year when they couldn't use the gym). So there was a tremendous amount of boxes littering the room. All were filled with papers, clothes, and other assorted objects. Yumi looked around the room, which was about as large as the meeting room, and sighed audibly.

"Rei-sama said the box was 'athletic club form copies'… right?"

"Just look for the box of china. I will put the forms away, and then we can carry the china back up." Yoshino said shortly, already pushing a few smaller boxed out of the way in search of the box in question.

"Alright, Yoshino…chan." Yumi said and turned towards the other side of the room, deciding to search there first. She thought she heard Yoshino say something, and turned towards the girl. "Hmm?" Her friend was knee-deep in brown cardboard boxes, ignoring Yumi as she opened a few, checking their contents. Shrugging lightly, Yumi turned back to see the box of china that Sachiko wanted, under another box of clothing. Lifting with her legs, Yumi removed the box of clothing from atop the box of china and let out a soft sigh as she set down the clothing. "I found the china." She said to Yoshino.

"Alright. Give me a minute and I'll come and help you." Came the girl's reply and she opened another box. "Ah hah. Here you are, you slippery devils." She said triumphantly and dropped the stack of forms into the box. "She did say to not worry about the order, after all."

"True." Yumi nodded and gestured down to the box of china as Yoshino approached. "Here is the china. I'll get this side, Yoshino-chan."

"Don't call me that…" Yoshino said softly as she leaned down to grasp her side of the box. Yumi stood still for a long moment, her hand twitching in no particular direction.

"What…?" She heard herself say. Yoshino didn't reply. She just gripped her side of the box and strained herself to pick it up by herself. When she realized she couldn't, she clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"Are we going or what?" She asked, looking towards the doorway. Yumi clenched her hands into tight balls, staring at her friend. She felt the familiar warm sting of tears welling up from behind her eyes.

"Why…?" her voice came out soft, quiet.

"Why what?" Yoshino let out, still not looking in her direction.

"Why are you being like Onee-sama was?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do!" Yumi cried, much louder and more forceful than she had intended. Yoshino grimaced at the cry, but still didn't look at her. "Yoshino-chan! Look at me, damn it!" She screamed, pushing away a nearby box to relieve her frustration. "Look at me! I want you to look at me!"

Finally, Yoshino turned her head towards Yumi, and looked at her. Her dark brown eyes locked onto Yumi's face. Yumi blinked and held her hands at her sides, barely suppressing a gasp.

It wasn't very obvious, but it was apparent enough to Yumi. Yumi had been crying for a week and a half; had watched herself cry in the mirror for hours. She knew what she looked like when she was crying, had cried, and was about to cry. Yoshino, her friend, was most certainly about to cry. Her jaw trembled slightly as she looked back at Yumi, her eyes puffy and red, her throat constricting in an effort to keep her voice in check. She looked as though she wanted to run away from Yumi. But there was no way she was going to let Yoshino get away now.

"Why do you not talk to me? Why do you not look at me? Why do you avoid me? Why are you being just like Onee-sama was?!" Yumi demanded, barely keeping her own tears from coming. "Why do you not want to be around me anymore? Do you hate me? Do you not want to be my friend anymore?!" Her questions kept coming, unable to be stopped. A week and a half of frustration and confusion came spilling out like a broken dam. "I can't stand being ignored! Onee-sama did, and it tore me apart inside! The only way I was able to keep going was because you were with me!"

"You seemed fine to me…" Yoshino said, her voice all but a trembling whisper.

"Well I wasn't!" Yumi cried, her voice shrill. "I was upset, sad, and hurt! Then you came up with that plan! Your… _damn_ _crazy_ plan! I thought it was crazy, but for Maria-sama's sake, it worked!"

Yoshino turned her eyes away from Yumi again, a cold look on her face. "Exactly. It worked. So we don't have to go with the damn crazy plan, do we?"

"I _liked _the damn crazy plan, Yoshino-chan!" Yumi cried, throwing her hands up into the air in frustration. "I liked the plan! I liked your idea to make Onee-sama and Rei-sama jealous! I liked being with you!" Yoshino's face twitched, and she shot her eyes back towards Yumi's. "Yoshino-chan-"

"Stop calling me that!" Yoshino cried, her eyes wide and her hands out in front of her. Yumi stared at her friend, too angry to listen.

"Why can't I call you that?!"Yumi rounded the box of china, getting closer to Yoshino. Her friend backed away from Yumi as she got closer, her hands held out in front of her.

"Please… don't call me that…" Yoshino said much more quietly, her eyes wide. Yumi could have sworn, in her upset tirade, that her friend was afraid. But she couldn't really stop now. She had never felt like this before. The entire week of crying herself to sleep with thoughts of this girl in front of her, waking up from dreams of her touching her and kissing her, all the frustration was coming out in ways Yumi never before had felt.

"Why not?! Yoshino-chan! Yoshino-chan Yoshino-chan Yoshino-chan Yoshino-chan!" Yumi sucked in a deep breath, her hands trembling at her sides. "Yoshi-"

"Stop it!" Yoshino screamed, holding her hands to her ears in a desperate attempt to block Yumi's voice. It wouldn't work, but the action was enough to silence Yumi. "Just… please stop it…" Yoshino said again, softer. "If you call me that… I don't know what to do…"

Yumi took a step back, not quite sure she had heard correctly. "What?" She asked, her voice a mix of confusion and anger.

Yoshino let her hands fall back to her sides lifelessly. She took a shuddering breath and choked out a soft sob. "Just… please don't call me that… it confuses me."

"What do you mean, 'confuses you'?" Yumi pressed, her stomach twisting painfully. Yoshino shut her eyes and her mouth twisted in an attempt at self-reproach.

"I… I don't know how to explain." She settled on saying.

"Try anyway." Yumi said, her voice growing softer with every passing second. Her anger was fading, and being replaced by concern for her friend.

Yoshino fidgeted between Yumi and the wall of the storage room, her eyes darting from side to side. "Um… well… I…" She stuttered. "Yumi-san…"

"Yumi-_chan_!" Yumi hissed, fully aware of how ironic the situation was at the moment. Yoshino seemed to notice too, because she actually coughed out a short laugh.

"Hah… um… well… Yumi-chan… what I want to say is…" She tilted her face to the side, as if coming to a decision. Finally, she seemed to make one. "Oh, whatever…" She growled and, in a sudden rush of braided hair, she grabbed Yumi by the arm, pulled her towards the wall she had been up against, and pinned the ribbon-haired girl up to the paneled wall. "I-"

Yoshino was interrupted when Yumi, completely surprising even herself, snaked her hand behind Yoshino's head and pulled her face towards her, and crushed her lips against her own. That was all Yoshino needed before she gave in and tightly embraced her friend, molding her body up against Yumi's. Yumi brought her other hand behind Yoshino's back and desperately tried to pull her even closer. Yoshino sighed deeply into Yumi's mouth as she felt her hand run up and down her back, her nails digging through the fabric of her uniform.

The two girls stood there for a long moment in each other's arms, kissing fiercely, releasing each other for air every few seconds. Yumi's heart pounded painfully loud in her ears. The feeling of Yoshino pressed up against her body all but the only thing in her consciousness. It was all she had been thinking about for a week and a half; while she slept, while she was awake, all the time. She wasn't sure it was right… or _proper_… to feel this way about her friend. But now that she was here, feeling Yoshino's lips on hers, feeling her hands travel up through the bottom of her shirt, she couldn't care in the slightest if it was at all wrong.

She released Yoshino's lips and groaned when her friend grasped her breasts with both hands, squeezing gently. Yoshino took the opportunity and went for Yumi's neck, placing small kisses along the thin skin of her chin down to her collarbone.

"Yumi… chan…" Yoshino heard her friend whisper softly from somewhere she couldn't see.

"Mmm…?" She replied, not quite sure what to say to her.

"We... shouldn't… do… this… today." She said between her light, fluttery kissed against Yumi's shoulder. She gently shifted her grip on Yumi's breasts, eliciting another soft moan from the girl.

"But… I want…" Yumi began, releasing Yoshino's back from her grip and instead pinning her friend's hand against her own chest firmly. "We will be fine." She said, her own voice sounding determined. Yoshino chuckled, smiling slightly.

"Oh, so now _you're _reassuring me? Wow, how the tables have turned. As much as I want to agree with you, if we don't go back up with the box in a few minutes, they _will _come down to get us." She kissed Yumi again, on the skin just above her off-white sailor collar. Yumi felt her heart jump at the action, and her cheeks burned with heat.

"But…" She whispered, clenching at Yoshino's hand against her chest. She had waiting for this for what seemed to her like forever. She didn't want to wait any longer. "Yoshino-chan…"

Yoshino's eyes narrowed and she pressed her mouth to Yumi's in a tight kiss. She squeezed Yumi's chest again, causing the girl to groan into her mouth. Yumi, quite unconsciously at that, slid her leg out behind Yoshino's, wrapping it around her legs and pulling her up more tightly against her own body. The action caused Yoshino to pull back from Yumi's mouth and smirk.

"Two minutes…" She said, the familiar glint that Yumi recognized in her eye. Yumi returned the smirk and nodded.

"It'll be enough…" She released Yoshino's hand and deftly found the space between her uniform shirt and skirt, sliding her hand inside to feel the skin of her stomach. "For now…"

Yoshino nodded and returned to Yumi's neck, biting the skin there gently. Yumi whimpered quietly at the feeling of her friend's teeth against her skin, and followed Yoshino's lead to find the small mounds of flesh at her chest with her hand. Yoshino stiffened when Yumi rested her hand on her breast, and she sucked in a short breath. Yumi considered asking her what was wrong, but quickly realized that, while Yoshino had felt her chest before, whether in 'training' or the 'performance', Yumi had not touched Yoshino's yet.

Until now at least.

She looked at Yoshino's deep red face beside her own, seeing her dark brown eyes dart to the corner of the room. She thought for a moment that she, perhaps, didn't like the contact. Yumi was about to let go of her when Yoshino, perhaps for the third or fourth time (she really wasn't keeping track), surprised her.

"They are small… aren't they…?" She whispered quietly, her face a bright red. "I-I mean… smaller than yours are…" Yumi smiled and, suppressing a laugh, gently squeezed the flesh on Yoshino's chest, causing the girl to whimper and clench her own hands on Yumi's breasts.

"I love them." Yumi said, gently kissing Yoshino. Her friend chuckled and returned the kiss, sighing into her mouth.

"As long as you do…"

The two girls battled back and forward for a while, taking turns kissing and being kissed, touching and being touched, until Yoshino finally stepped back, her face flushed and her check heaving as she breathed.

"Now, seriously, we _need_ to go back up. They might send a search party down. And I _do not_ want Rei-chan or Sachiko-sama to catch us again. That was embarrassing… even if it was planned…"

Yumi sighed, adjusting her brassiere and her uniform, taking special care to right her skewed sailor collar. "Yea. I think one a life-time is enough to be caught by them."

"Although, it _did_ make it more exciting, didn't it?"

The girls giggled together for a moment, then made their way back towards the box of china. Reaching down, Yumi grasped the box and lifted along with Yoshino. They carefully walked towards the door and stopped in front of it.

"Um… hey…" Yumi said seriously, halting her steps but keeping her grip on the box.

"Hmm?" Yoshino voiced, tilting her head. Yumi chewed on her lip for a moment, and then nodded.

"I think… I need some time to think… about us… you know? I mean… I _like_ you, Yoshino-chan… But… I just don't know, you know? I don't know what these feelings I have are. If they are real… if they aren't… I just… I'm confused, you know?" Yoshino looked down at the box for a few long moments, and then nodded in understanding.

"I understand, Yumi-chan. Really, I do. I think… we both need some space and time to think on… well… _us_… you know?"

"Yea…" Yumi nodded slowly. "I want to know if these feelings I have for you are real or not." Yoshino returned her gaze back to Yumi, a speculative look on her face.

"And if they aren't?" She asked, her voice tentative.

Yumi shook her head. "I really hope they are…"

"Me too." Yoshino smiled and swallowed, taking a breath. "Because I hope these feelings I have are real, too."

Yumi's eyes widened at her friend's revelation, and smiled. She had spent the entire week and change distressing over what Yoshino was thinking, what she was feeling, and why she was ignoring her. Now that she knew, it made her just as happy as when Sachiko had made up with her. She just hoped that these new feelings she felt when she thought of Yoshino were real. If they were… who knows what would happen?

"I hope both of our feelings are real, then…" Yumi smiled at her friend, wiping a stray tear from the corner of her eye.

"Hey, hey! Don't start crying, Yumi-chan. Our Onee-sama might think we broke up again, or something."

Yumi laughed with Yoshino, picking up the box of china and exited the room.

0 – 0 – 0

OMAKE

Shimako: They have been gone quite a while… should we go down to make sure they are alright?

Sachiko: No, I think they are fine. We shouldn't really bother them.

Touko: Why are you smiling, Sachiko-sama…?

Sachiko: Hmm…? Oh… nothing.

Rei: … *eyebrow twitches*

Noriko: Uhm… Rei-sama? Are you alright?

Rei: …. *Twitch twitch*

Touko: Ah! I get it! Oh my God! I have to go see this!

Sachiko: Sit down, Touko-chan!

Touko: But I taught them everything they knoooooooowwwww! I MUST go watch!

Noriko: Taught them what? Taught them what?

Shimako: Oh… I think I understand… Noriko… wait until you are one year older.

Noriko: Wait for WHAT?

Touko: LEMME GO REI-SAMA! I NEED TO SEE MY WORK! MY EFFORT!

Sachiko: Rei! Don't let her out of the room!

Noriko: I DON'T UNDERSTAAAAAAND!

0 – 0 – 0

Boo ya!

I think its a little obvious that the story is winding down now. Essentially, the next chapter might very well be the last. That is, unless I am overcome with a maddening idea to extend the story into another arc (a triangle or something? lemme know your thoughts and Ill see if I can use the idea).

Anyway!

R & R My readers! You are are my shining star!

...

OK, too cliche, I know. How about...

Your reviews are like... Vegemite on a sandwich if I were Australian? Sure. Lets go with that ;-)

Peace!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own MariMite. Sad sad sad. Nahh its cool. The creator is doing a great job. :-)

A/N: Alright, here is chapter 6!

It took an extra day or two to get out, but I think it was worth it. I like this chapter. I should have made it a little longer but... eh. I like to keep most chapters between 4.5K and 5K words for ease.

On with the show!

**Revenge is a Dish...**

**Chapter 6**

0 – 0 – 0

Yumi crashed onto her bed with Yoshino on top of her, struggling to maintain her grip on her friend while at the same time making sure she had landed soundly on the soft mattress. Sure that she had indeed landed squarely on her bed, she leaned back into her friend's kiss. As she wrapped her hands around the back of Yoshino's head and her arm, Yumi found herself chiding her own audacity at her actions. Here she was, in her _own room_, under her _parent's_ roof, making out with her friend. It was so unlike Yumi, she wondered if she were, in fact, dreaming.

A sharp pain from her shoulder, Yoshino giving the flesh that ran along her neck to her arm a short bite, prove otherwise. Yumi was, in fact, wide awake.

Awake, and treading on thin ice in her own home.

Yumi had actually invited Yoshino over to her home for dinner Saturday evening after school. She had agreed, and after going home for a few hours that afternoon, she had arrived just in time for supper with her parents and brother. After a nice dinner, Yumi's parents entertained the pair of girls for a while, only to be ushered away by their own daughter (the cheek!) in favor of their own activities in Yumi's room. When it got late, Yoshino was about to leave. However, Yumi's parents argued the point that it was already far too late for the girl to go home, and insisted that since tomorrow was a day off, that she stay the night.

Little did Yumi's parents know that they had just played into the trap and Yumi and Yoshino never even intended to set. After dessert (ice cream and cake! Yum!) and a shower, Yumi and Yoshino found themselves back in Yumi's room as the household turned in for the night.

However, Yumi and Yoshino weren't really sleeping.

Yumi hadn't planned on this… _honestly_… she hadn't. She had just planned on having a nice evening and dinner with her friend, and leaving it at that. It was all her parent's fault. It was her parent's fault that they made Yoshino stay the night and-

"Mmm…" Yumi felt helself moan as Yoshino slipped a hand underneath her nightshirt, squeezing her breast. The feeling of Yoshino's hand on her chest felt very different without her bra, and she felt her whole body respond to the contact.

"Shh!" Yoshino said, her voice above a whisper. "Not so loud!" Yumi glared at her friend above her.

"Well, maybe if you wouldn't _do _that!" She hissed. Yoshino flicked her hair, which she had unbraided after her shower, behind her head and smirked.

"You want me to stop?"

"No!" Yumi's eye went wide. "I'll be quiet, I swear!"

"Good girl." Yoshino nodded. Without so much as another word, she returned to her previous job of working her way down Yumi's shoulder. The girl wore a light pink, button-up night shirt. It didn't take much effort at all to undo the top button and slide the cotton fabric off her shoulder.

Yumi felt herself tense as Yoshino's hand slipped part of her shirt off. She knew what she was doing. She usually did, after all. She was purposely removing her clothes on _purpose_! The thought drove Yumi crazy. But with Yoshino right there on top of her, her legs on either side of her hips, there wasn't much she could really do. She could just lay there and let Yoshino do what she wanted.

Or could she?

Inwardly giving herself a pat on the back, Yumi snuck her hands underneath Yoshino's nightshirt, a loose-fitting yellow cotton shirt, and ran her hands along the skin of the girls back. Yoshino reacted to the touch by pressing her body up against Yumi's and digging her teeth more deeply into her shoulder. Not wasting any time, Yumi ran hands around the front of Yoshino and rested her hands just noticeably next to the girl's chest.

Yoshino pulled away from Yumi's shoulder and gave her a piercing look. Yumi shrugged and giggled quietly. After glaring at Yumi for a few moments, Yoshino returned her shrug and deftly popped open another button of Yumi's shirt.

"Ah…" Yumi breathed, suddenly very embarrassed. The light was off, so it wasn't like it mattered… but _still_… Yoshino snickered silently above her and leaned down, kissing the newly revealed part of Yumi's chest, below her neck. "Your horrible…" She managed to say, her voice just barely above a whisper.

"Oh _am_ I?" Came Yoshino's reply. Suddenly, Yumi felt another button open… and another… and another… until she knew her shirt was completely open to Yoshino. Fidgeting softly under her friend, Yumi shut her eyes in embarrassment.

"Yes… you are…" She breathed, trying desperately to ignore the mad thumping of her heard in her chest. Why oh _why _ was Yoshino always so determined about this? Why wasn't she like this when it came to their relationship? For the past two weeks, both of them had refrained from really talking about where they were in their relationship. Were they friends? Lovers? Girlfriends? Friends… with privileges? Yumi just didn't know.

She had tried to bring up the subject with Yoshino a few times. When she had, though, her friend usually brushed her off, or was overcome with a fit of indecisiveness. It was largely frustrating to Yumi. Not that she really knew where they stood, anyway. If Yoshino had come to her and asked what kind of relationship they had… she would have probably answered in a similar fashion.

But still… it didn't help the fact that the two of them were here, in Yumi's bed, doing exactly the kind of thing that friends _shouldn't _be doing with each other.

"-!-!-!-!" Yumi back stiffened suddenly, and it took all of her willpower not to cry out when she felt Yoshino's warm mouth rest on the tip of her breast. All words failed her as she felt Yoshino gently touch, lick, and nibble the tender flesh of her chest. She could only whimper softly until her friend appeared in front of her face again, a wide grin plastered on her face.

"Horrible, am I?" She said, planting a soft kiss on Yumi's lips.

"The worst…" Yumi stammered, still reeling from the new sensation that assaulted her.

"Well, what are you going to do about it, Yumi-_chan_?"

Yumi narrowed her eyes back towards her friend, the possibilities flying through her head. Suddenly thinking of one, she smiled.

"Want to go on a date tomorrow?"

The randomness of the question threw Yoshino off her stride, and she opened her mouth in confusion. Yumi took the chance to quickly slip free from Yoshino's grasp, and pulling the girl back to where she was, threw her leg over Yoshino's hips, effectively changing positions. Now on top of her friend, Yumi found herself reveling in the fact that she had done all that without screwing up. Impressive indeed.

"Gah!" Yoshino hissed, her face a mix of angry and humor. "You tricked me!" Yumi shook her head, slowly running her hands back up Yoshino's body from the bottom of her shirt.

"No… that was real. Want to go on a date tomorrow?"

Yoshino eyed her for a moment, until her face went rigid as Yumi's hands found Yoshino's breasts.

"Y-yes! Yes, I do…" Her face colored heavily, still visible in the low light of Yumi's bedroom. "But what are we going to do?"

Yumi shrugged, and leaned forward, kissing Yoshino's neck softly. "I don't know… but we'll think about it after this…"

0 – 0 – 0

The next morning, Yoshino and Yumi decided to follow their tentatively-made plans to go out on a date. However, not really knowing anywhere interesting to go, the pair opted to split up for a few hours and meet up at the transit station later for lunch. For one, Yoshino had to return home to change clothes. Yumi also had to _discreetly _ask around for good date ideas. Unfortunately for her, the only people who would be of any help were her Onee-sama, Sachiko, or her brother, Yuuki.

After Yoshino bid Yumi's parents a farewell and thanks for having her, she left, leaving Yumi for a few hours. Giving a small sigh, she started to make her way to her brother's room to ask for date ideas when, causing a curious smile to creep across her face, another option came to her.

All but running back to her room, Yumi snatched up her phone from its cradle and dialed a telephone number she had written down next to it from a short list of other digits. After a few rings, a calm, collected voice answered.

"Toudo residence. How may I help you?"

"Ah! Shimako-san! Good morning, this is Yumi Fukuzawa." There was a short pause on the other end of the line before Shimako spoke again, her voice noticeably more elated.

"Yumi-san! Good morning. This is a pleasant surprise. To what may I owe the pleasure of your call?"

"Actually, I wanted to know if you could give me some advice, Shimako-san." Yumi said into the phone, smiling to herself.

"Some advice? Of course, Yumi-san. What kind of advice?"

"I was wondering if you knew anything about dates…"

Getting information on what Shimako knew about dates didn't take very long, as the Rosa Gigantea (surprisingly) didn't know all that much more about dating than Yumi herself did. Nevertheless, combining what Yumi knew with what Shimako knew proved to be enough to get her started, and Yumi was able to formulate a plan for her and Yoshino's afternoon date.

Before she even realized it, eleven o'clock came and went, and Yumi had to rush to make it to the transit station by half-past eleven: her and Yoshino's designated meeting time. Arriving at the entrance to the station, it didn't take Yumi long to locate her date.

Standing beside a notice board, looking to the entire world like a girl impatient, was Yoshino. She wore a light colored turtleneck sweater and denim trousers. Her dark sneakers gave the idea that she expected to do some walking. Yumi, on the other hand, had opted for a dark blue hoodie (unzipped, of course), light pink blouse and white skirt. Her cream-colored leggings protected her from the growing cold. Finally, she, like Yoshino, wore sneakers.

"Yoshino-chan!" She trotted up to her friend, beaming happily. Yoshino swiveled her eyes towards Yumi and frowned.

"About time, Yumi-chan." The girl 'humphed' audibly, deliberately looking away from Yumi. "I was starting to think you weren't coming."

Yumi looked and the ground, fidgeting nervously. "I'm sorry, Yoshino-chan… I couldn't decide what to wear." Yoshino turned her head back towards Yumi, casting her eyes over her choice of clothing. After a few moments, she sighed and relaxed her shoulders.

"Alright, alright. You look cute so… I guess I'll forgive you." She said, a small glint sparkling in her dark brown eyes. "That is… if you kiss me."

Yumi sputtered in shock for a moment, but her surprise ended as soon as it started. Yoshino must have been planning that from the very moment she arrived at the station. It was all Yumi could do to oblige her friend, after all. And anyway, they had done more than kiss… so… what difficulty was one more?

Yumi leaned her face close to Yoshino and, before her friend could react, landed a soft kiss right against her lips. Yoshino blinked, her hands hanging limply at her sides. Yumi giggled and pressed her fingers together mischievously.

"How was that?" She said, sticking out her tongue playfully.

It took a few moments for Yoshino to come back from wherever she was. The girl shook her head and coughed into her hands. "Geez… I thought it was gonna be like… a cute, innocent kiss on the cheek or something." Yumi shrugged.

"What are you talking about? That _was_ cute and innocent."

"Yea, right. And I'm a nun." She eyed Yumi, considering something, and then seemed to abandon it. "You're lucky we're in a public place, missy. Now where are we off to?" Yumi suppressed the blush that threatened to overtake her features and nodded towards one of the bus lines.

"We're heading off towards downtown. I figured we go for lunch first, and then see where that takes us."

Yoshino smiled and nodded, a suddenly ravenous look sweeping across her face. Yumi couldn't help but think the look suited Yoshino perfectly.

"Excellent! I'm starved! Let's go!"

After a nice lunch of Italian pasta (a moderately priced, yet tasteful restaurant about fifteen minutes away on the bus), the two girls decided to partake in the conveniently nearby aquarium. Yumi had been to the very same aquarium a number of years ago, and was pleased to see that the place hadn't really changed all that much. There were still many different fish and sea creatures in different habitats and exhibits, and even a lovely rest area surrounded by a variety of different aquatic backgrounds. After taking a tour around the suggested route of the building, Yumi and Yoshino sat down on a small, two-seat bench in the rest area. Yoshino offered to go and buy some drinks, and after disappearing for a couple minutes, returned with two boxes in her hand.

"What would you like?" She asked, holding the boxes toward Yumi. "Strawberry milk? Or milk tea?"

"Strawberry milk." Yumi said. Yoshino smiled and placed the box of milk tea into her back, withdrawing a straw instead.

"Me too." She said with a wink. And sat herself down next to Yumi and stabbed the box with her straw.

"But, there's only one…" Yumi said, her voice trailing off at the incredulous look Yoshino sent her.

"So?" Her friend said, handing the box to Yumi. "I don't mind sharing a straw with you, Yumi-chan. I would even go as far as to say that because last night your mouth was on my-"

"Alright!" Yumi hissed, her eyes wide. "You made your point…" She put her lips on the straw, sucking up the strawberry-flavored drink slowly, well aware that her face was likely the same color as the drink.

Yoshino giggled as she held the can. "That's better, Yumi-chan." When Yumi sipped her fill, Yoshino took a turn, drinking the liquid quietly. It took the girls only a minute to drain the box. Yoshino tossed the emptied container into a nearby rubbish bin and let out a soft sigh. "Nice choice, Yumi-chan."

"What, the milk?" Yumi said with a smirk. Yoshino shot her a humored look before shrugging.

"Yes, but what I meant was the aquarium." She looked around the rest area, her eyes lingering on the aquatic-themed murals littering the walls. "I came here with Rei-chan when I was little. But I didn't enjoy it as much as I am now."

"Why?" Yumi asked, interested.

"Because of my heart." Came the response. It hadn't been the answer Yumi had expected, not that she knew what to expect, anyway. Yoshino looked at her and pointed towards her chest. "It kind of dictated my whole life as a kid. I couldn't really play… I couldn't do the things I wanted… I had to just do what the doctors said at all times. It was infuriating… But I couldn't fight it."

Yumi nodded, listening intently. She knew the basics of Yoshino before her heart operation, but not everything. If it meant getting to know the girl more and getting into her heart… so to speak… Yumi was all ears.

"Ah… sorry… that's kind of a depressing story. We're supposed to be having fun, right?" Yoshino grinned, her face a study in embarrassment.

"No… I want to know." Yumi said, leaning closer to Yoshino. "Really… I want to know everything about you."

Yoshino studied Yumi's eyes for a long minute, before nodding. "Alright… where do I begin?"

For the rest of the afternoon, Yoshino talked to Yumi all about her childhood. How her heard condition impeded her from doing what she wanted. How she had to always follow what she was told. How it was 'for her protection'. About how, so many times, she had cried herself to sleep at her own powerlessness.

In the end, though, Yoshino had finally gathered up the courage to make her own decisions. She had decided to get the operation for her heart. She, herself, had decided to step out, and make her own life how she wanted to make it. She wanted to be strong on her own. She wanted to be her own person; not the kind of person her family and doctors told her to be. It would change her entire life, her decision.

It was inspiring to Yumi. As she heard all of Yoshino's feelings, Yumi could feel her own take shape inside of her heart. As she listened to her friend, she finally understood, deep down inside, that she was sure of herself.

Her feelings were clear.

She loved Yoshino.

0 – 0 – 0

It was Monday, during lunchbreak, when Yumi sought out Rosa Foetida in her class. The second year poked her head in the third year classroom, looking for the tall, short haired girl. It didn't take long to finally find her.

"Rei-sama!" Yumi waved her hand to get the older girl's attention. Rei, seeing Yumi had come to her class to talk to her, made an effort to drop everything she had (which was a rather nice-looking lunch), and make her way to Yumi.

"Yumi-chan… what can I do for you?"

"Ah… do you have some time…?" Yumi asked, suddenly unsure of bothering the third year during lunch. But, Rei nodded intently, her eyes sharp and serious.

"Of course. Let me get my lunch and we can talk." She retrieved her lunchbox and returned to Yumi in a flash. "Shall we go somewhere more quiet?"

"Yea… that might be a good idea."

The two girls left the third year hallway in search of a less-populated area. Before she even realized it, Yumi had led Rei to the very same spot that she and Shimako often ate lunch, behind the classroom building, next to the ginko tree. She sat herself down, gesturing to Rei that they had arrived at their destination.

"So… this is about Yoshino." Rei states, sitting down and smoothing out her skirt before opening her lunch.

"Yea. I just wanted to talk to you for a few minutes… is that alright?" Yumi asked, casting a gaze over the older girl's lunch. It was immaculate; a pile of steamed rice, stir-fried pork cutlets, marinated cabbage, and an omelet that looked like it had been filled with onions, bacon, and tomatoes. Just looking at the expertly-prepared lunch made Yumi's mouth water. Her lunch wasn't anything to sneer at… but compared to Rei's lunch…

"Would… you like some…?" Rei asked Yumi, seeing the younger girl eying her own food enviously. Yumi shook her head, dispelling her moment of weakness.

"No! No… it's alright. It just looks really good." Rei laughed.

"It's perfectly fine, Yumi-chan. Help yourself. Really." She set her lunch on the step the two sat on, a clear meaning for Yumi to take some food.

"Well… if you say it's fine…" Yumi mumbled, blushing while taking some stir-fried pork. She popped it into her mouth. "Oh… my… gosh! It's _amazing_, Rei-sama!"

"Why, thank you, Yumi-chan. I try." Rei said, smiling. Suddenly, her smile fell from her face. "Now… about Yoshino… is anything the matter?"

Yumi swallowed and set her chopsticks down, staring out at the ginko tree. "No… nothing is wrong. In fact, just the opposite. Things are going really _well_."

"I see."

Yumi turned her gaze back to Rei. "I want to apologize to you Rei-sama." The older girl's eyebrow raised questioningly.

"Apologize?"

"Well… I kind of… took… Yoshino-chan from you…" Yumi said, hanging her head. "I never considered your feelings. She told me how much you took care of her when you were kids… and how much she cares for you. Thinking about that… I felt back about… well, you know… taking her away from you."

Rei stared back at Yumi for a long while, her face a mirror of surprise. Then, even more surprisingly, she laughed. "Yumi-chan! You take me by surprise more and more every day!" She brought her hand to her face, suppressing a huge grin. "You are actually worried about how I will take Yoshino spending time with _you_? Haha!" She leaned forward, laughing again. Yumi sat still, not quite sure how to take Rei's reaction. Should she be happy? Afraid? Nervous? Yumi just didn't know.

"Uh… Rei-sama… are you… upset?" She chanced. After a few moments of laughing, Rei sobered up and looked back at Yumi.

"No… not in the slightest." She said, wiping her eyes. "I'm actually really happy for you and Yoshino. At first, I was upset. Angry, really. I was angry at Yoshino being taken away from me by someone who didn't really understand her. Someone who just wanted to… I don't know…" She shrugged. "Like, when you first told Sachiko and I that you two were dating. I was shocked more than anything. Obviously, I was against it. But Sachiko persuaded me that you and Yoshino were your own people, and deserved a chance to try to be together."

"Yea… she told me that…" Yumi said. Rei nodded.

"And _then_ you and Yoshino just… ah… surprised us again… that time in the Rose Mansion…" Yumi colored deeply at the memory. She vividly remembered the faces that Rei and Sachiko had when they had walked in and found the two second years… well… _together_. "And… well… my protective instincts kicked in. I'm sorry if I scared you."

"Ah… no, it's ok. Yoshino-chan and I shouldn't have even done that in the Rose Mansion…"

Rei sent her a stern look, and nodded. "It's good that you understand that. If either Sachiko or I catch you two like that in the Rose Mansion again…" The threat was clear to Yumi, who nodded. "Anyway… what I want to say is… I trust you. I also trust Yoshino. She is quite a handful… but…" Rei rubbed her hair, a tired look on her face. "Like I told you at the very beginning… Be careful… alright?"

Yumi nodded seriously, her hands tightly clenched on her lap. "Don't worry, Rei-sama. I love Yoshino-chan. I promise I will do whatever I can for her."

Rei stared back at Yumi, her eyes wide in surprise. After a few quiet moments, she sighed and looked at the ginko tree in front of them. "Love, huh? Well, I guess that's alright…"

The two girls ate their lunch quietly, amidst the fallen ginko nuts, until the soft chime sounding the start of classes broke them of their reprieve.

0 – 0 – 0

Yumi waited another couple days before approaching Yoshino, deciding to walk with her to the bus stop after the Yamayurikai meeting on Wednesday. After bidding the Onee-sama farewell, and parting with Shimako and Noriko (Touko was nowhere to be found, having left early to take care of personal matters), Yumi and Yoshino found themselves passing by the figure of Maria-sama alone after many other students had already left for the day. Yumi stood right beside Yoshino as the two girls put their hands together in prayer.

"You talked to Rei-chan, didn't you?" Yoshino said, her voice hiding her amusement as she turned away from the statue of Maria-sama. Yumi coughed and skipped to catch up to her friend.

"H-how did you know?" Yumi asked fearfully. Yoshino giggled and glanced at her.

"She told me last night. Wouldn't tell me what you two talked about though… I don't suppose you would be willing to shed some light?" Yumi sighed and sped up her pace, passing Yoshino.

"Hmm… I don't know… it was _kind _of a secret… if you know what I mean." She looked back to see Yoshino standing still, her eyes wide and staring straight at Yumi.

"No… I _don't _know what you mean." She said, her voice menacing. "You mind telling me what you were doing with my cousin?" She stepped forward, not a few inches away from Yumi's face. Yumi couldn't really help it; she laughed.

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" She said, stepping back from Yoshino. "I just wanted to apologize to her for kinda stealing you." Yoshino let out a relieved breath, her shoulders relaxing visibly.

"Oh, my _god_… you scared me… I thought you were two-timing with my _cousin_! As healthy as my heart is now, I don't think it could handle that."

Yumi stepped back up to Yoshino and held her hand against her friend's chest, above her heart. "Don't worry; I'm yours. _Just_ yours."

Yoshino arched an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. "And what exactly do you mean by that, Yumi-chan?"

Yumi couldn't help the blush that spread along her cheeks. "Exactly what it sounds like…" She said, her voice just above a whisper. "I'm yours… I… I love you, Yoshino-chan." She said, looking into her friends dark brown eyes. Yoshino blinked, eyes face slowly adjusting to the confession.

"Uh…" Yoshino stammered, not sure how to respond. Of all the things she expected Yumi to say, it must have not been this. "I…"

Yumi grabbed Yoshino's hand, intertwining their fingers. "I am sure about my feelings now. I love you. I want to thank you for coming up with your damn crazy plan to get our Onee-sama to pay attention to us. If you didn't, I may never have awakened to these feelings. I may never have known that I love you."

"Yumi-chan…" Yoshino whispered, a bright pink blush creeping through her face.

"You are all I think about; day and night. I am happy when I am with you. I am sad when we are apart. I look forward to every second I spend with you. All I want to do is make you happy, and I will be happy. If that isn't love, what is?"

Yoshino's eyes wavered, clearly holding back tears. "Are you sure that isn't Sachiko-sama you are talking about? She said with a hint of humor.

"That's a different feeling. She is my Onee-sama. You are Yoshino-chan." Yumi said with a bright smile. Yoshino's mouth twitched once. Twice. A third time, before she sucked in a long breath.

"I… feel the same way about you, Yumi-chan."

Yumi gripper her friend's hand tightly, barely suppressing her own wide smile. "Really?"

"Yea…" Yoshino said, nodding. "I thought about it for a long time. At first, I thought it was similar to the way I love Rei-chan. But… it's not… this is different. You make me want to be courageous. You make me want to be my own person. I never really told you this… but if it weren't for you talking to me that one day… I would have never gone through with my heart operation."

Yumi's mouth opened, shocked. "What…?" Yoshino nodded.

"Yea. I was scared. Scared that I wasn't strong enough to go through with it. I wasn't sure I was the kind of person who could decide things on their own. I wasn't sure I could be the kind of person I wanted to be. Then you talked to me, and told me what you thought about me." She laughed softly, rubbing her eyes the back of Yumi's hand. "It was all wrong, of course. Because Rei's and my information was switched. But you still told me what you thought, even though you didn't know for sure. I don't know why, even now, but somehow… after talking to you… I had suddenly had the courage to take the next step."

"Yoshino-chan…"

"So… yes, Yumi-chan. My feelings are also real. I love you." Yoshino smiled at her friend. Yumi nodded, returning the bright smile back at Yoshino. The two girls stood there, holding each other's hands for a long time, until Yoshino laughed. "So… Yumi-chan. I'll ask again…"

Yumi tilted her head in question. "Hmm?"

"Do you do start dating to get our Onee-sama jealous?" Yoshino asked, a glint in her eye.

"But we don't need to make them jealous anymore…" Yumi said, matching her friend's expression. Yoshino shrugged.

"We don't have to. But won't it be fun?"

Yumi giggled and nodded, leaning forward to kiss her girlfriend. Yoshino returned the kiss, still holding Yumi's hands tightly with her own, as the figure of Maria-sama watched on from behind them.

0 – 0 – 0

**Alright! End of part 1!**

It certainly looks like the end, doesn't it? Quite honestly, I was fully intending to end this story now. It is quite a short story, but I like shorter stories as opposed to longer ones; easier to stay interested, yaknow?

That being said... I was struck another idea to extend this story at least a couple chapters. I really like the Yumi and Yoshino pairing. It would also take care care of an interesting plot device mentioned during chapter 4 (Sachiko's trip with Yumi around the world). Tell me what you think. For what its worth, I don't mind leaving it here OR continuing it.

See you on the next chapter!

Peace!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own MariMite! T-T cry cry cry. I only own this little piece of sad sad AU.

A/N: Chapter 7 is here!

Sorry I'm a little later than usual. I've been on vacation ^o^ Yay, national day holiday!

*Ahem* Anyway...

Now that part 1 (Yoshino and Yumi getting together) is out of the way, I can start part 2! (out of 3 total parts)

Not wanting to ruin anything, part 2 will be about as long as part 1 was, and will essentially be about our favorite second years, as well as our favorite first years (with a new addition in there). So, those of you who are Sachiko and/or Rei fans will have to suffer and wait until part 3! (which will have a much more Sachiko-heavy presence)

I just thought I should warn ya. On with the show!

**Revenge is a Dish...**

**Chapter 7**

0 – 0 – 0

_Isn't it about time you thought about finding your own petite soeur?_

That sentence, when said to anyone else, was not necessarily that important. It really depended on the individual. On someone who was outgoing, popular, and pretty, it may be infinitely more easy to think about than say… to someone like Yumi.

That was why, when Rosa Chinensis said that string of words, verbal punctuation marks, and a somewhat expectant tone, Yumi almost choked on her almond biscuit she had been eating at that exact time. Coughing as quietly as she could manage, she reached for her cup of warm tea and downed the liquid on one manageable gulp. After exhaling heavily, Yumi scanned the second floor meeting room of the Rose Mansion.

All eyes had fallen upon her.

The Rosa Gigantea sisters, Shimako Toudou and Noriko Nijou, looked up in surprise at the girl's outburst. It was not as though it was particularly _uncalled for_, coughing like that, but the two girls were now fully interested in the conversation that had begun. It wasn't every day the subject of new petite soeurs came up, after all.

Moving down the length of the large wooden table, Yumi spied Rosa Foetida, Rei Hasekura. The older girl continued to scratch at a lengthy form with her mechanical pencil, but was quite obviously drawn into the topic, as well. She occasionally glanced over at Yumi and Sachiko with a bemused look on her face.

Beside Rei was her petite soeur, Rosa Foetida en bouton, Yoshino Shimazu. The girl stared at Yumi with widened eyes, her mouth forming a perfect 'O' as she digested what Sachiko had just said. Yumi locked eyes with Yoshino for a few moments, knowing perfectly why the other girl was surprised. It wasn't as though the thought of Yumi getting a petite soeur was all that shocking, even if the two girls had been _officially_ dating for over a month (more than that if the time spent _fake_ dating was included), but it was the idea that Yoshino would have to think about finding a petite soeur as well.

Shifting her eyes away from Yoshino, Yumi looked towards Touko Matsudaira. The first year had ceased making a fresh pot of tea, and stood frozen as a statue, staring at Yumi out of the corner of her eye. She didn't really know what the girl was thinking, but Yumi had the vague idea that Touko wanted to vacate the Rose Mansion as soon as possible.

The thought stung at Yumi a little more than she would have really wanted. She really liked Touko, honestly. She was a sweet girl, if not a little standoffish at times. She always projected an air of… well… the closest Yumi could ever describe it as is an air of _determination_ as well as _privacy_. It was as if Touko was determined to do everything herself, and never really wanted or needed help. It was quite inspiring to Yumi, who knew that one of the things that attracted her most to her girlfriend, Yoshino, was her determination.

However much Yumi may like Touko, though, it was clear that Touko did not hold any special feelings for Yumi, sisterly or otherwise. Yumi had entertained the thoughts of Touko being her petite soeur for a while, as it were. After getting the first year's help with her and Yoshino's… _performance_… more than a month ago, Yumi had even debated bringing the subject of Touko being her petite soeur up with Sachiko and Yoshino. The idea died as soon as it began, though, as Touko soon reverted back to her usual standoffish self no more than two weeks afterward. To anyone that was privy to the goings-on of the Yamayurikai, however, Touko was the first person to be thought of when the topic of Yumi's petite soeur was mentioned.

Like it was being mentioned now, for example.

"O-Onee-sama…?" Yumi stammered, shifting her eyes back towards the girl beside her. Sachiko looked back at her, her dark blue eyes holding a mixture of humor and seriousness. "W-what are you bringing this up _now_ for?" The older girl shrugged lightly, a simple movement of her shoulders.

"Why not now, Yumi? Autumn is almost over, and will be winter before we know it. That means spring will come and… you know what that means?" Yumi shook her head. "It means the end of the school year will follow; and I will leave Lillian."

Yumi felt her blood drain from her face at the thought of Sachiko leaving Lillian. Her _Onee-sama_! Leaving! The idea alone was preposterous!

"Sachiko-sama, that won't be for quite a while, now." Shimako came Yumi's rescue with a warm smile. "There is plenty of time yet."

"But who knows how long it will take to find a petite soeur. I want to leave secure with the knowledge that Yumi has a little sister to follow in her footsteps." Sachiko said, her voice crisp as that morning's air. Shimako tilted her head in a small bow, agreeing with Sachiko. Luckily, she didn't have to worry about _her_ petite soeur finding another little sister until the following year; Noriko was still only a first year student.

"That's the way of it, Yumi-chan." Rei said from across the table, her lips turned up in a good-natured grin. Then, without even skipping a beat, she settled her gaze on Yoshino. "And since we're on the subject… Yoshino, what about you finding one as well?" All at once, every eye in the room shifted from Yumi to Yoshino, you visibly stiffened in her seat. Yumi stifled a giggle; Yoshino had recently begun to employ more and more of Yumi's mannerisms. The facial expression that she had now being one of them.

"Uwah… Onee-sama… w-whatever do you mean?" Yoshino managed, her eyes wide as saucers. Rei shook her head, a gesture Yumi had begun to associate with exasperation.

"Well, when I graduate, I hope you would have a petite soeur… not _just_ a girlfriend." The girl threw her gaze to Yumi, who blushed heavily. The fact that Yumi and Yoshino were a couple was old news by now, at least in the Yamayurikai. Everyone had accepted them, but apparently, they weren't going to get away with not having soeurs yet. Yumi locked eyes with Yoshino, trying to get a feel for her girlfriend's thoughts. The girl returned her gaze through her dark brown eyes, her lips pressed tightly together. Unless Yumi was mistaken, she was trying to think of a way out of this.

"Uh…" Yoshino mumbled, lowering her eyes back down to the table. Rei opened her mouth, ready to press her petite soeur further, but was interrupted when Shimako came yet again to the rescue.

"Rei-sama, Sachiko-sama, I had recently talked to Yumi-san and Yoshino-san about finding petite soeurs." She said, gaining everyone's attention. "Surprisingly, they both have been actively reaching out to the first year student body in an attempt to get a feel for the new students. I believe it is only a matter of time before potential petite soeurs are found."

_Yes! Shimako-san, nice save!_ Yumi pumped her imaginary fist into the air. She looked back towards Sachiko, who wore an expression of quiet acceptance.

"Well, I suppose I can let it go this time, Yumi…" She said slowly, carefully. "But please, think more about it."

"I will, Onee-sama." Yumi replied, breathing a quiet sigh of relief. She looked at Yoshino, who held a similar face to Yumi. At Yumi's gaze, Yoshino winked and stuck her tongue out. Yumi made a minute biting motion towards her girlfriend, the sound of her teeth clacking together in her ears. The message was clear, though.

_I'll bite that tongue later, missy._

Yoshino shrugged, a haughty look on her face, and returned to her work. Yumi shook her head, laughing to herself, and shifted her gaze to Shimako, who looked back at her. Yumi mouthed the words "Thank you!" to her friend, and went back to her double checking of Sachiko's various forms.

0 – 0 – 0

"Oh. My. God. We are _so_ screwed…"

Yumi blinked and stared at Yoshino, surprised by the sudden use of uncharacteristically off-color language. The girl walked beside Yumi as they made their way to the figure of Maria-sama. While Yumi had certainly been thinking that… she would have never _said_ it like Yoshino did. She was inclined to agree with her girlfriend, however.

"I know…" Yumi said, hanging her head. "I haven't forgotten about looking for a petite soeur… but it's just… well, it just kind of got… postponed." Yoshino threw her hands up in frustration.

"Well, at least you have been thinking about it! It hasn't even crossed my mind, finding a petite soeur…" She sighed and leaned against Yumi as she walked, causing Yumi to slow her pace to counterbalance Yoshino's weight properly. "Yumi-chan… what am I gonna do…"

Yumi smiled at the girl's whining tone. While the subject was somewhat serious, she always did like Yoshino's outlook on things. Somehow, her mood and disposition made even the most serious matters laughable. Sometimes Yumi knew she thought about things too seriously. But now, she constantly drank in Yoshino's lighter view on everything. It usually worked, anyway.

"Well, isn't there any first years you know?" Yumi asked, slowing her pace as the statue of Maria-sama appeared before them. She felt Yoshino right herself and put her hands together in prayer. Yumi followed suit, shutting her eyes.

"Aside from Noriko-chan and Touko-chan? Not really well enough…" Yoshino sighed. "I just can't seem to get out and actually happen across a first year… I mean, how exactly do I do that?" Yumi thought for a moment, and then shrugged.

"Onee-sama and I met purely by chance. She… uh… well… you know…"

"Yea, yea… I think the entire school heard about your little 'scarf issue'." Yoshino smirked and nudged Yumi in the ribs gently, causing the girl to squeal quietly. "And that would work for, say, you and your precious Onee-sama. For me though… I don't usually go around enforcing the dress code around Lillian." She returned to her praying and, after a few moments of silence, the two girls continued on their way to the entrance of the school. "What about you though, Yumi-chan?"

"Me?"

"Yea, you. I think your situation is a little better than mine. At least you have choices, you know?" Yoshino held up her fingers, ticking off names as she tapped her digits. "There's Touko-chan… there's that chick… uh… Ka… Kanako-chan, right? That's over two hundred percent better than I got!" Yumi clicked her tongue and scanned her eyes around them, suddenly feeling as though Touko or Kanako might well be eavesdropping at that moment.

"I haven't seen much of Kanako-chan these past two months…" She admitted. "I think the fact that you and I are dating really put her off."

"Really?" Yoshino arched her eyebrow. "I figures she'd… ah… be… ya'know… _into _that… seeing as she hates men and all." Yumi shook her head, frowning slightly.

"No, I don't think it was like that. She… is an interesting girl who had different ideas about… well… me." Yumi suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable talking about Kanako like this, even if it was with Yoshino, whom she knew wouldn't really turn around and talk about this to other people. Yoshino seemed to pick up on Yumi's feelings and changed the subject slightly.

"Alright… so what about Touko-chan? If I wasn't mistaken, I would think she's a close second, if not first."

Yumi stayed silent for about a hundred meters before speaking. When she did, she noted that her voice was lower and softer than she intended. "I don't think Touko-chan likes me very much." Yoshino 'hmm'd' audibly and spaced her steps more widely apart, giving the impression that she was a child taking steps far too wide for her to really take.

"What makes you say that?" She asked, clearly intending for Yumi herself to think about the answer.

"Well…" Yumi voiced, tilting her head. "I mean… I thought we were starting to get along well recently. Things were a… little weird at first… between her, Onee-sama and I. Then they started to get better. And then there was that… time the three of us were at my house…"

"Haha! Oh yea, that was a fun time." Yoshino laughed, a wide smile on her face. "She was super helpful, wasn't she?"

"Yea… and that got me thinking about her as a possible petite soeur. But then, she went back to her old self… she just is… _cold_ to me. I don't know how to explain it."

Yoshino seemed to consider that for a long while as the two girls walked. "Well…" She said, as if deciding something. "Her aside, I think our main problem is not knowing enough of the first years."

"True." Yumi agreed, but not really knowing what to do about it. She was about to press Yoshino for any ideas she might have had, the girl _did _often come up with good, if not a bit off-color ideas, when a third voice sounded from behind the pair.

"Well, that can perhaps be solved."

Yumi and Yoshino turned around to see Shimako, followed closely by Noriko. The two girls were in their coats, obviously intending on leaving the school grounds. Noriko bowed slightly to the two older girls as they approached.

"Hi, Shimako-san." Yumi said as the wavy-haired girl stopped in front of her and Yoshino. Yoshino gave a light wave and a smile, apparently feeling that Yumi had spoken for the both of them. Shimako beamed brightly at her friends and tilted her head towards her petite soeur.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Noriko." She said. The first year nodded and, giving a farewell to Yumi and Yoshino, continued on past the gate of the school. "Now, as I was saying…" Shimako said, giving her full attention to the other girls. "I believe that is a problem easily solved."

"You mean, knowing more first years?" Yoshino asked. Shimako nodded and brought her finger to her chin in thought.

"I am thinking we could arrange something to allow the two of you to be involved more with this year's first years. Something like a…" She trailed off, searching for the word.

"A party?" Yumi suggested.

"Hmm… something like that." Shimako shrugged. "My point is, we could arrange it as the Yamayurikai, and use that as a pretense to introduce more first year students to the two of you. I think that would be a great opportunity to, perhaps, find potential soeurs." Yumi and Yoshino exchanged looks in silence, both trying to guess what the other was saying. Finally, Yoshino nodded.

"That… might work out…" She said slowly. "I mean, wont we have to get Sachiko-sama and Rei-chan's permission for this kind of thing?"

"I don't think that will be difficult." Said Shimako, her lips turned up slightly. "I think, if it meant you two getting a petite soeur, Sachiko-sama and Rei-sama will agree to _almost _anything." Yoshino and Yumi shared a similar look of exasperation. What the girl said was probably true, but that was beside the point.

"Well, even so… we should properly plan the event." Yumi pointed out, feeling the first stirring of excitement at the thought of a party with many people.

"I don't think it should be too big." Yoshino said, her eyes holding a hint of hesitation still. "Too many people would be hard to manage."

"Oh! I know!" Shimako said, her face lighting up. "A tea party! We could arrange it into a tea party with second year and first year students. We could use the Rose Mansion as the venue for the party, and take reservations from those who wish to participate in it."

"Not a bad idea, Shimako-san." Yoshino crossed her arms over her chest, her face muscles much looser than they were before, a clear sign that she was feeling better about the idea. "But all that for just Yumi-chan and I?"

"We… could… open it for people looking for soeurs… and not have it be just for the two of us." Yumi said thoughtfully. When Shimako and Yoshino looked at her, she felt the top of her ears color. "Uh… I mean, we could call it a 'Soeur Tea Party'… or something… those girls who want to find a grande soeur or petite soeur can attend… and… yea…?" Yoshino and Shimako looked at the ground, thinking about the idea. It sounded good to Yumi, at least.

"That's not a bad idea." Said Yoshino after what had seemed to Yumi like a full minute. "That would work. Of course, we would have to keep it under a certain number of people." She turned her eyes on Shimako. "How many people can the Rose Mansion hold?" Shimako thought for a moment, pursing her lips.

"I believe… up to eighteen people in the second floor, if everyone has a chair. If we open up the first floor room as another tea area, and we find another table of course, we can altogether hold more than thirty." Yoshino whistled at that.

"Didn't know the Rose Mansion was that big."

"Neither did I..." Yumi seconded.

The three girls looked between themselves for a few moments, until Yoshino shrugged and cleared her throat. "So… are we going to do this? If so, I think it's a good idea. It sounds fun, anyway!" She grinned, her previous hesitation all but gone. "We should bring this up with Rei-chan and Sachiko-sama tomorrow." Yumi nodded in agreement, and turned to Shimako.

"Thank you for the idea, Shimako-san." The girl smiled brightly, tilting her head in a very cute gesture.

"I wanted to help you two. There is no need to thank me." She turned towards the sidewalk away from school. "Are you two heading home now?"

Yoshino sided up to Yumi and grabbed her arm all in one swift motion. "Nah. We're going to a café for a few before going home." She grinned and nudged Yumi. Shimako giggled good-naturedly and gave a small wave.

"Then I will see you two tomorrow. Have a lovely evening."

"Bye, Shimako-san!" Yumi called alone with Yoshino, and watched their friend walk away towards the bus that had just arrived. After the girl boarded the vehicle, she turned her eyes back towards Yoshino, who was smirking up at her. "What was that about a café?" Yoshino's smirk widened and a familiar glint appeared in her eye.

"Yea. Don't you think I didn't catch that '_I'll bite that tongue_' move earlier. I'll make you follow up on that. C'mon, let's go. I'm hungry!"

Yumi found herself blushing as her girlfriend dragged her by the arm down the sidewalk. Apparently, she was in for a little more than tea and cake that afternoon.

0 – 0 – 0

It had been exceedingly easy to convince Rosa Foetida and Rosa Chinensis to agree to hold the 'Soeur-making Tea party in the Rose Mansion. Apparently, when it was mentioned that the party was for finding potential petite soeurs for Yoshino and Yumi, as well as would fill the Rose Mansion with students (which is what the previous year's Roses wanted, one more than the rest), the rest was simple. Sachiko and Rei both agreed, but only under the condition that Yumi and Yoshino plan the event. Shimako could help, too, if she wanted. But she was only allowed to help in her free time from Yamayurikai duties.

And so Yumi and Yoshino set out in planning for the event (which would take place the start of November, a couple weeks from then), by letting the administration of the school know, as well as creating posters for the event. The posters had actually been Noriko's idea, as she was a first year and therefore knew the best way to pass information among her peers.

Apparently, according to Noriko, both Yumi as well as Yoshino were extremely popular among the first year students. And any sort of event including them would be sure to attract a bevy of willing participants. The thought was somewhat surprising to Yumi, but the surprise soon turned to unease as she remembered the upheaval of first year students that all but swarmed her when the news broke out that she and Yoshino were dating. If the team party would be anything like it had been then…

Yumi shivered in her seat as she leafed through the invitations that had been turned in thus far. She caught Yoshino peer at her from across the small table in the first floor of the Rose Mansion.

"What's up, Yumi-chan? You cold?" She asked, shifting her gaze to the open window.

"Ah… no, sorry Yoshino-chan. I just had a thought. It-it's nothing."

Yoshino continued to eye Yumi for a few moments, before turning back to her half of the invitations. She clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Geez… would you look at some of these?" She tossed one towards Yumi. "'What kind of characteristics do you look for in a soeur?'… girl writes down 'I just like Yoshino-sama!' What's with that? That's not an answer…"

Yumi couldn't help but laugh at that. Many of the initiations turned in so far, a resounding twenty, had been more or less normal. At least, what Yumi could call normal. Any girl interested in participating in the event had to fill out an invitation form, complete with a five-point questionnaire, and turn it into the Rose Mansion. Then it was up to Yumi and Yoshino, as well as Shimako when she would afford the time, to go through the invitations and weed out the 'unacceptable'. That last invitation might be pushing it.

"It may not be, but how about the other questions?" Yumi asked, keeping her grin in check. Yoshino sighed and read further down the form, bobbing her head in understanding.

"Okay… I guess she is alright. The rest of her answers are pretty well thought out. Just that first one…" She grimaced uncomfortably.

"There there, Yoshino-chan." Yumi chided, unable to keep the sardonic smile from her face. "You can't help being cute and popular." Yoshino held her head in her hands and sighed.

"Bite me."

Yumi snorted a laugh and returned to her invitations. Most of them were first year girls, but there was a surprising amount of second years that did not have petite soeurs yet. _At least I'm not the only one…_ Yumi felt relief seem through her body at the thought. It had worried her immensely, what Sachiko had said about hurrying up to find a petite soeur. She had gotten the distinct feeling that she was alone in the sea of girls that already had soeurs.

Alone with Yoshino.

That would have been fine, if Sachiko wouldn't be disappointed. But she would be. And Yumi was determined to not disappoint her Onee-sama. Taking a long, slow breath, Yumi steadied herself for another invitation. She picked up another from the stack when Yoshino's sudden movement ceased her hand. She looked across the table to see Yoshino staring at an invitation, her eyes wide and her body stiff.

"Yoshino-chan?" Yumi asked, clearly concerned. "What's wrong?" Yoshino blinked a few times and turned the paper over, looking at the back of it.

"Uh… I don't know… this invitation is weird." She handed the paper to Yumi, who took it and held it out in front of her.

Indeed, the invitation was odd. Most of the questions were not filled out. In fact, the only lines that _were_ filled out were the question pertaining to hobbies, and the applicant's name. Under the 'What are your hobbies?' question, were the words 'Western Music' (in English…) and another set of characters that didn't quite make sense.

"Is that Japanese?" Yumi asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"You mean her name?"

"Name?" Asked Yumi, looking at the name written down. Similarly to the hobby, the name was a little hard to make out. "That's… that doesn't look Japanese…" She said again, trying to make out the characters. "Weird…"

"Yea, you're telling me." Yoshino said, holding her hand out for the invitation. Yumi handed it back silently. "Should we pass her?"

"I'm not sure how we could even notify her if we passed her." Yumi shrugged helplessly. "I mean, I can't even read her name very well. You think it was a misspelling?" Yoshino shot an incredulous look back at Yumi.

"How could a girl misspell her own name?"

Yumi shrugged again. "I don't know… maybe we should ask Noriko-chan about her. See if she knows."

"Good idea. She's a smart girl." Yoshino agreed and immediately stood up, making for the door. "She should be right upstairs with Shimako-san. I'll go get her. Be right back, Yumi-chan." With that, she stepped out of the door and shut it behind her with a 'click'. Yumi stared after the girl for a moment, and then picked up the odd invitation again, taking another look at it.

"Part in English… part in Japanese… at least… maybe in Japanese…" She said to the empty room. Maybe a foreigner? One not really good in Japanese? Where there any foreigners attending Lillian? Yumi knew that Sei Satou, the previous Rosa Gigantea, was part foreign. She never really found out exactly how much, but her blonde hair and light skin color made it obvious. So, foreigners (at least part foreigners) were not unheard of at Lillian. Yumi had just never really met any that she could recognize.

A noise from outside the door drew Yumi's attention away from the invitation, and she looked up to see Yoshino enter the room again, this time with Noriko in tow.

"Got her." Yoshino said with a wink. "Let's see that invitation, Yumi-chan." Yumi held out the paper towards Yoshino, who in turn took it and held it out to Noriko. "This girl, Noriko-chan. Do you know anything about her?"

The first year brushed her dark hair out of her eyes and scanned over the invitation. The skin around her eyes was tight for a moment, and then loosened, then tightened again. Yumi, having never really stared at Noriko this long this closely before, assumed this was her 'thinking face'. Her lips pursed and tried to form the words written down in an understandable way.

"Chin…?" She said, sounding out the name written on the form. "Is that… Chin? It looks like it; at least I think so…" Yumi and Yoshino exchanged glances, sharing an equal look of confusion.

"Is that a Japanese name?" Yoshino asked.

"I don't think so." Yumi replied with a shrug. Suddenly, Noriko snapped her fingers, her eyes wide with realization.

"I got it! I know her. Her name isn't Chin… its Chen!"

"Chen?" Yoshino arched her eyebrow. "Definitely not a Japanese name."

"No, I don't think she's Japanese. At least, not all Japanese." Noriko explained, handing the form back to Yumi. "She's not in my class, so I don't know all that much. But I think her name is Mei. Mei Chen. She kind of keeps to herself a lot and isn't part of any clubs that I know of."

Yumi looked at the invitation, her brown eyes scanning over the name written in not-all-that-recognizable Japanese. "I never heard of her."

"I am not surprised, Yumi-sama." Quickly, Noriko held up her hands, her cheeks burning brightly. "Uh… I-I mean, not many people have. Like I said, she keeps to herself and doesn't really interact with many people."

"Then why would she want to join in the tea party…?" Yoshino asked, her voice musing. Noriko shrugged, equally confused. Yumi continued to stare at the invitation, coming to a conclusion that made sense… to herself at least.

"I think… she wants to find a soeur." She said carefully. "If she doesn't interact with anyone, like you said… maybe she is just shy. And if she's not all Japanese, maybe she finds it hard to get to know people here."

Yoshino sighed, placing her hands firmly on the small table beside Yumi. "It's been a good few months, though, since the start of the term. It's almost winter, and she _still_ hasn't made friends?" She shook her head. "We have to get this girl to come to the party."

Yumi nodded, agreeing with Yoshino. Something about the fact that a girl not having many friends so far into the year bothered her. And if she could do anything about it, Yumi would desperately want to.

"Yumi-sama, Yoshino-sama… would… would you like me to ask around? See if I can find out more about her?" Noriko asked helpfully.

Yoshino grinned, placing a hand on the first year's shoulder. The contact made the girl stiffen in shock. "I'll do you one better, Noriko-chan. Why don't you invite this girl over to the Rose Mansion sometime this week? If she is such a loner, as you heard, maybe we could get to know her even before the party. It would be a good start, I think." She looked at Yumi, her smile wide and devious. "What do you think, Yumi-chan?"

"I think that's a good idea, Yoshino-chan." Yumi smiled at Noriko. "Noriko-chan, could you try and…?" She trailed off, knowing the first year knew exactly what she wanted. The dark-haired girl bowed, a simple lowering of her head.

"Of course, Yumi-sama. I'll try and invite her later this week."

The three girls all looked back at the invitation, still in Yumi's hand, all of them wondering in their own separate ways about this girl who no one seemed to know much of.

0 – 0 – 0

Now now, before you go all 'hatehatehate' on me for adding in an OC, just hear me out, a'ight?

I feel that this arc, because it'll be mainly about Yoshino/Yumi finding petite soeurs, needs a good problem/issue to be solved. And I don't feel that Touko is _enough _of a problem. Those of you who want to stick with the story will know what I mean soon enough. Trust me ^.^

Also, don't assume Touko _will_ end up being Yumi's petite soeur! I like surprises, and I might just change things up quite a bit while I'm writing. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Muahaha!

Dont forget to review and tell me how I'm doing! If you have anything positive (of negative) to say, just shout it out! After I stop crying, Ill be grateful!

Peace!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own MariMite! T-T cry cry cry. I only own this little piece of sad sad AU.

A/N: Sorry for being a few days later than usual! ToT

I got stuck with a couple days of block *getting Mei-s character right... still not quite happy with it though... ah well, it'll improve as the story progresses* and... well... Pokemon X/Y came out a couple days ago and... well... time makes fools of us all .

The only reason I finished chapter 8 today is because my 3DS needs to charge batteries! Haha! But, I got it out, nonetheless! Cheers!

(BTW, if anyone else also plays Pokemon X/Y and wants another homie to trade/battle whatever with (yea, nerd it up), PM me. I luvs more peeps to game with!

Here we goooooo!

**Revenge is a Dish...**

**Chapter 8**

0 – 0 – 0

A few days later, when Noriko arrived at the Rose Mansion after classes with the news that the mystery girl, Mei Chen, would be arriving after cleaning duty, everyone except Yumi and Yoshino were surprised.

"Yumi…" Sachiko said as she set down her warm cup of chamomile tea. "Care to explain who is coming to the Rose Mansion?" Yumi shifted uncomfortably under her grande soeur's steady gaze, not quite sure what to say. Luckily, Yoshino did know.

"Sachiko-sama, we asked Noriko-chan to invite a particular first year to the Rose Mansion. This girl filled out an invitation to the tea party we are planning. But, there were some particulars about the invitation we weren't clear on. So, we invited her here for…" She pursed her lips, thinking of the best phrase to use. "An interview? I guess…" She finished with a shrug. Yumi let out her breath quietly, pleased that her girlfriend could come up with such a comprehensive explanation at such short notice.

"Who is this girl?" Sachiko pressed. While Yumi knew that while anyone was more than welcome to visit the Rose Mansion, the Yamayurikai liked to at least know what people would be coming, if not only as a common courtesy.

"And what particulars of the invitation weren't you clear on?" Rei added, looking up from her book.

Yoshino visibly deflated. Apparently, her explanation hadn't been as clear and comprehensive as she or Yumi had thought. And she thought Yoshino had done so well, too…

"Uh… w-well…" Yoshino floundered, looking at Yumi for help. Yumi gave a small shrug and a helpless smile. After all, there wasn't much she could do in this case.

Suddenly, a quiet sound came from behind the door, muffled as if from a short distance away. Noriko smiled and stood up. "Well, that must be her at the front door. I'll go and bring her up. Please excuse me." With a quick, silent exchange between her and Shimako, the girl left the room, shutting the door behind her as she left.

"Well, I assume all questions will be answered when she comes." Sachiko said after a moment, shooting a stern, but not unkind look at Yumi. The pig-tailed girl returned her look with a guilty expression of her own, and stood up.

"I'll make some fresh tea." She went over to the corner kitchenette and opened the overhead cupboard. Taking a browsing look at the selection of tea, she picked out some black tea leaves and went about pouring a small amount into the teapot, starting the hot water boiling in the kettle. After putting the box of tea leaves back into the cupboard, Yumi caught Yoshino's eye. The girl shot her eyes around the room and, sure that their ocular conversation as safe, sent a wink her way. Yumi giggled and returned to the heating water.

After a few moments, muffled voices accompanied by equally quiet footsteps could be heard from outside the doorway, and the subdued conversation between Sachiko and Rei ceased as the door opened. In walked Noriko, flanked by an unfamiliar girl.

Noriko and the newcomer took places beside each other at the end of the table, gathering a total of five separate stares from around the room. Noriko smiled and cleared her throat.

"Everyone, this is Mei Chen." She said, gesturing to the girl beside her.

The girl, Mei, bowed slowly and righted herself, casting her dark brown eyes around the room. Her black hair, tied behind her head, fell down to the middle of her back in a loose ponytail. Her angled face, while still quite young-looking, showed a well-controlled but quite guarded expression. Yumi found herself doubting their earlier conceptions of if Mei wasn't all Japanese. After all, the girl _looked _Japanese. After a long moment, Mei swallowed, and spoke.

"G-gokigenyou, everyone. I am Mei Chen; first year, peach class…seat four." She said slowly. From her posture and the controlled look on her face, Yumi would have sworn that Mei was relatively accustomed to being surrounded by second and third year students, even those of the Yamayurikai. But, the rapid movement of her eyes, flying from Sachiko, to Rei, to Shimako, to Yoshino, gave away the fact that this girl was, indeed, quite nervous. "Please excuse my…" She stammered, and finally her eyes found Yumi, the skin around her eyes tightening when as locked her gaze on the older girl. "My… um…" She seemed to shrug. "Well… please excuse me."

Rei, Sachiko and Shimako stood as one, and all nodded their heads. Yumi blinked away from Mei to watch the scene unfold.

"Welcome to the Rose Mansion, Mei-chan." Sachiko said, holding her arms out in a welcoming gesture. "I am Rosa Chinensis, Sachiko Ogasawara."

"I am Rosa Foetida, Rei hasekura." Rei added, smiling kindly to the younger girl.

"And I am Rosa Gigantea, Shimako Toudou." Shimako finished. "You have already met my petite soeur, Noriko." She added, gesturing to the girl standing beside Mei. Mei smiled lightly, bowing to each girl as they introduced themselves.

"I am Rose Foetida en bouton…" Yoshino said, casting a glare at Rei as if saying 'Why didn't _you_ introduce me?' "Yoshino Shimazu. It's nice to meet you, Mei-chan."

"Nice to meet you, too, Yoshino-sama." Mei replied, her face kind, but tight. Her eyes shifted back to Yumi.

"Uh… oh!" Yumi said, turning around fully to face the girl. "I'm sorry… I am Rose Chinensis en bouton, Yumi Fukuzawa." She said, keeping a blush from spreading across her face. She knew her Onee-sama would usually chastise her for not being polite enough to properly greet a guest like the rest of them. But then again, maybe she would not dwell on it this time.

"It's very nice to meet you, Yumi-sama. It's nice to meet you all." Mei said, looking around to the girls around the room. "But…" She hesitated. "I… do not know why I was called here…" Yumi and Yoshino exchanged glances, trying to actively avoid the looks they were most assuredly getting from their grande soeurs. Apparently, Noriko hadn't fully explained the situation to Mei. That was fine, anyway. It was their duty to inform the girl, after all.

Yoshino took Yumi's pleading look as cue to explain to the newcomer. Clearing her throat, she stood from her chair. "Well, Mei-chan. First, please have a seat. Would you like some tea?"

Mei nodded politely, making her was to the closest chair. "Y-yes, please. Tea would be nice."

"What kind do you prefer?" Yumi asked, well aware of the fact that the tea had just finished boiling. She could always just replace the tea leaves. Mei's eyes shot towards Yumi, and back around the room just as fast.

"Uh… I'll drink what... everyone is drinking. Thank you, Yumi-sama…" She said, her voice growing quieter as she sat down. Yumi nodded and poured the hot water into the teapot, watching as the tea leaves spread out through the steaming liquid, immediately beginning to stew.

"Then, black tea it is." Yumi said with a smile. She heard Noriko approach her from behind.

"I will take care of the tea, Yumi-sama. Please, have a seat with our guest." She said, stepping beside Yumi.

"Ah… thank you Noriko-chan." Yumi smiled and retreated from the Kitchenette, returning to her seat beside Sachiko. She sat down and smiled towards Mei, who looked all but a little uncomfortable under the stares of the older girls arrayed before her. She managed to hide it well enough, however. The skin around her face was taut and her body quite motionless. She girl reminded Yumi vaguely of Touko, now that she was looking at her. Not really from her looks, though; Mei and Touko looked nothing alike. The usual guarded expression on their faces, and the way they seemed to always sit still and silent resembled the other first year. Yumi shrugged the thought off. It wasn't polite to compare two different people to each other, after all.

"So, Mei-chan…" Yoshino started, folding her hands together on the table. Mei dragged her eyes away from Yumi to look at Yoshino. "Did Noriko-chan tell you anything about why we invited you to the Rose Mansion?"

"N-no… she didn't…" Mei said with her usual slow speech. "She came to my class yesterday to ask if I was free today. I said I was… but I had to do cleaning. So then, she asked me to come here after I finished cleaning the classroom." Yoshino sighed and shot a tired look at Noriko, who flinched under the girl's stare.

"Well, that's fine…" Yoshino said dejectedly. "Then allow me to explain… We-"

"Yoshino, slow down." Rei interrupted, holding her hand up. "I think, first, we should clear something up." She looked towards Sachiko, who nodded in understanding.

"Mei-chan… you do not look familiar. I also do not recognize your name. Can you tell us a little about yourself?" Sachiko said, after a moment of thought. Mei swiveled her eyes around to Sachiko, her face tightening a little more. Yumi glanced at her grande soeur, but didn't say anything.

"Um… al-alright…" Mei stuttered slightly. "W-what did you want to hear? Thank you, Noriko-san." She said as Noriko places a cup of black tea in front of her.

"If it's alright, you can speak simply." Shimako said, leaning forward slightly. "Japanese isn't your native language, right?"

Mei snapped her face towards Shimako, her tightly controlled expression cracking just noticeably. Yumi and Yoshino, in addition to Mei and Noriko, also looked at Shimako in shock. In fact, only Sachiko and Rei didn't look surprised.

"Reeehhhh?" Yumi got out, clearly surprised. Japanese wasn't her native language? Yumi had considered that, from the girl's invitation form and the writing she had put down. But from her speech, she seemed to be native enough…

"Is that true, Mei-chan?" Yoshino asked, her eyes wide. Mei slowly rotated her head back to a neutral position and nodded slowly.

"Y-yes… I learned a little Japanese when I was young… but I recently started learning more." She said.

"I see." Sachiko nodded, her hands clasped together in front of her. "You accent is very natural, though. You should be proud of yourself."

"T-thank you, Rosa Chinenses." Mei whispered, her eyes flying around the room. Yumi got the distinct feeling that, while this girl was usually still and silent, she never really relaxed much. "My accent is alright, I guess. But my vocabulary isn't very… strong."

"Where are you from, then?" Rei asked, tilting her head.

"I was born in Guangdong… uhm… a province in China… uh… beside Hong Kong." Mei said, pursing her lips. "Mei Chen is a Chinese name, obviously. My father is Chinese, and my mother is Japanese. I lived in China until I finished middle school, and my parents wanted to move here. I came with them."

"Ahh… I see…" Yoshino said, her eyes alight with understanding. "That explains your strange writing…" Yumi suddenly remembered the invitation form. The girl had written strange characters that hadn't looks quite Japanese. That was likely because they were, in fact, Chinese characters. While some Chinese characters were similar, or the same as Japanese, much of them were quite different.

"My strange writing…?" Mei asked, confusion leaking through her tight mask. Yoshino snapper her fingers and, leaning over to her schoolbag, retrieved Mei's invitation. She slid it over the table towards the girl.

"We got your invitation to the soeur tea party, and were just a little confused by it. That's why we asked you here today."

Mei looked over the invitation, and her confusion gave way to clear embarrassment. "Aiya…" She said, apparently to herself. "I forgot… I'm very sorry, Yoshino-sama… Yumi- sama." She stood up and bowed to the older girls. "I was… uh… too excited, and didn't know what to write for it. And…" She chewed her bottom lip for a quick moment. "My Japanese writing isn't very good." She leaned over and handed the invitation over to Rei, seeing her silent gesture of wanting to read it.

"If your writing isn't well developed, Mei-chan, how do you complete your schoolwork?" Sachiko asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Well, my mother usually helps me. Ahhh… but, not a lot! She just helps with word correction and grammar…." Mei said, but quickly corrected herself. "And the teachers help by giving me a… uh… a… how to say…" She clicked her tongue, her eyes flashing to the table. "Han… hand…"

"Handicap?" Yumi provided helpfully. Mei's face lightened considerably, and for the first time since she walked into the room, her lips twitched up into a smile.

"Ah… yes. Thank you, Yumi-sama. A handicap."

"I'm curious… how, then, were you admitted to Lillian?" Sachiko said. Yumi grimaced. She knew Sachiko didn't mean to sound crass, she was just curious as to how the girl had been admitted to Lillian if she hadn't been enrolled in the Lillian middle school division, or even had a strong command of the language, for that matter. Luckily, Mei didn't seem perturbed by Sachiko's tone. Or she perhaps hadn't caught the implication some people may have.

"In middle school, I was in a similar school to Lillian. There are a few women's catholic schools in China, and the one I was in is considered a… a sister school to Lillian." She shrugged. "And so, they let me go to school here when I moved to Japan."

"I see." Sachiko simply said. The answer itself was acceptable, and the older girl was never one to push things too far. If they weren't about herself, that is. "What was that about an invitation?" She turned her head towards Rei, who set down the invitation on the table, sliding it towards Sachiko. She picked it up and scanned over the slip of paper silently.

"Mei-chan, we just wanted to ask you a few questions about it, if that's alright." Yumi said, trying to keep things inside the girl's comfort zone. Spurred on by the first year's nod, Yumi continued. "Well, first would be your name. That's a Chinese name, right?"

"That's… right."

"You don't have a Japanese name?" Yoshino asked.

"No, I was never given a Japanese name. The name on my passport is Mei Chen, and the name on the school register is also Mei Chen… so I thought I should write my real name." Mei said, now clearly thinking that it had perhaps not been the best idea.

"Yes. That was the best action to take." Sachiko said, setting the invitation down on the table. "Of course, it might have helped to write down the Romanji or Katakana for your name, as well."

Mei nodded, settling her rapidly-moving eyes on the table for a long moment. "I'll… remember that… Rosa Chinensis."

"Now, about your hobbies…" Yoshino prompted. "The only question you filled out was your hobbies. Can you elaborate?" Mei looked up at Yoshino.

"E-elaborate?" She asked, her tone indicating that she maybe didn't understand the word. "Do you mean, explain?" She asked, tilting her head in a similar fashion to that of a bird.

"Yes. I'm sorry, can you explain?" Yoshino corrected, trying to suppress the smile that was threatening to overcome her features. She shot a look to Yumi, and Yumi knew exactly what the look meant. _She is cute!_ Yumi sighed silently to herself and rolled her eyes back to Mei.

"Well, I like listening to music. Western music, actually."

"Anything in particular?" Shimako asked, tilting her head. Mei shook hers.

"No. Not really. As long as it's English or a similar language, I kind of like it. I can't speak English well, I just like listening to it." She gave another very small smile. "My parents sometimes think I am insane." Yumi had to keep from laughing in agreement. While she didn't really have a particular taste in a specific type of music, her parents sometimes didn't understand her habits and hobbies either.

"And the other hobby… Martial arts?" Rei asked, indicating the invitation. Yumi blinked and looked down at the paper, craning her head to clearly see the other hobby Mei had written down. She hadn't been able to read the characters before, but now that Rei had said martial arts, she could make out certain bits of the characters. Indeed, they could be read at martial arts. And, of course, Rei would be able to make it out; the girl was very good at kendo, after all.

"Uh… well… not really." Mei said, her shoulders tightening at her sides. Under all of this scrutinization by older girls, the girls still hadn't budged. But she was clearly highly nervous. "It's actually pronounced as Wushu in Mandarin. Wushu… is kind of like martial arts… but it's not really my hobby. It's just what I can do…"

The other girls in the room exchanged looks, clearly confused. Rei pursed her lips and leaned forward. "So… what kind of martial arts then? Swords? Judo? Hand-to-hand?"

"Um... All, actually. Chinese Wushu… Aiya, how to say… it uses all kinds of those in it. It really depends on the family or style of Wushu you study. My father let me study Wushu when I was a little girl, and I learned many different kinds. But it's not my hobby. I just do it." She finished with a shrug and a steady exhale.

"Ah…" Rei breathed, understanding on her face. "That's why you are well-controlled even though you are nervous. I wondered about that." She laughed. "But don't worry. You don't have anything to be afraid of here, Mei-chan."

"Thank you, Rose Foetida." Mei said with a small smile.

"So, I believe that's all you answered on the invitation form, right?" Yoshino asked, craning her head to get a look at the form on the table. "Just your name and the 'hobbies' section. What about the others? Why didn't you fill those out?" Mei pursed her lips, perhaps, Yumi assumed, thinking of how to word the explanation.

"Well, I wasn't sure of the best way to answer those questions, without help from someone." Mei said softly. "I mean, questions like 'what kind of person are you looking for in a soeur?' are… a bit too difficult for me to answer on paper."

"Would you like to try answering them now?" Yumi asked, willing her tone to sound suggestive and kindly, anything but pushy. Mei seemed to consider that.

"If… if you would like me to try, then I would love to." She said, staring back at Yumi with her dark eyes. Yumi felt a shiver and put her hands on her lap in an attempt to stem the urge to shift in her seat.

"Uh… yes. I think…" Yumi caught Yoshino's glance, and nodded. "I think that would be best, Mei-chan. For the tea party's records, at the least." She reached over and grabbed the partially-filled out invitation, bringing it in front of her, and readied her mechanical pencil. "Yoshino?"

Yoshino flipped her braid behind her shoulder and cleared her throat. "Alright Mei-chan, are you ready?" Mei nodded, slowly sliding her gaze from Yumi to Yoshino. "First question, what kind of person do you want in a soeur?" The question had been the first on the invitation, and was a fairly open-ended one, at that. Nonetheless, it was quite an important one, as far as the purpose of the tea party was concerned. Mei's stoic expression did not change, though her eyes flashed around the room, taking a few moments of rest on each person in the room. Finally, she seemed to settle on an answer.

"I want a soeur who likes me being who I am." She said seriously. That caused a shift around the room. It wasn't as though the phrase was incorrect or anything, it was just an odd requirement.

"Well, that's a good requirement." Yoshino nodded, a satisfied look on her face. "If not a little uninspired… but still, good nonetheless." She looked over at Yumi, who scribbled the answer on Mei's invitation. When she was finished, Yumi sent a smile up to Yoshino. "Alright then. Next question, you answered. Hobbies. We'll skip that one and move onto the next: What is one part of you that you are most proud of?"

Yumi smiled to herself. That question had been Yoshino's idea. While she herself thought the question inspired a feeling of narcissism, Yoshino had insisted that liking oneself was important to liking another person. And as far as being soeurs were concerned, you had to be at least somewhat comfortable with yourself to properly bond with another on the level that soeurs required.

"Myself…" Mei said softly, her eyes falling down to the table. "I think… I like my determination. I mean, when I decide to do something, I do it. I have never given up on something before." She nodded, as if convincing herself, and raised her eyes back to Yumi and Yoshino again, taking turns between staring at the two girls. "Not once."

"Impressive. Not many people can be so determined." Yoshino said, a curious glint in her eye. She shifted her brown eyes toward Yumi and winked. "Neh, Yumi-chan?" Yumi suppressed a sigh, knowing what her girlfriend was really meaning by that. It had been, after all, not very long since the two of them started dating and Yumi knew it had been her, rather than the steadily-determined Yoshino that had come out with a confession. Yoshino probably would have never really acted on any feelings at all, if Yumi had not done anything. She was determined and courageous in almost everything she did… except for the first time she had been attracted to someone the way she had been attracted to Yumi.

That had turned the usually-brave and sure Yoshino into a scared, confused girl. One that Yumi had to take the initiative with. It had worked, anyway.

"Alright, then, next question: Why do you want to join in on the tea party?" Yoshino asked, looking from the paper to Mei.

Mei took a slow breath and exhaled. "I guess… because I don't know a lot of people. I thought the tea party would be a good… um… thing to join to meet people. My mother suggested that I join, too." She smiled; a very pretty smile, Yumi realized now that she had seen it a few times. "It might be a good time to find a soeur, too."

"Ah, good!" Yoshino clapped her hands together. "Then that brings me to the last question. Who is the person you admire most?" Mei looked down at the table again, her face impassive and a little thoughtful. Her lips were pressed together, forming a tight pink line. Her eyes, for the first time since she walked in the room, were still, staring at the light brown wood of the meeting room table. She seemed lost in thought for a long minute, until she looked back up, towards Yumi.

"I admire… my mother." She said, her voice calm and controlled. "She is a wonderful woman who helps me with anything I have trouble with. I want to… be just like her."

Yumi caught Yoshino's eye, and she smiled. Another good answer. She chanced a glance to Sachiko beside her, and saw the older girl's lips twitch upwards as she hid the expression behind her teacup. Even Sachiko was pleased with the answer. That, for Yumi, was enough.

"Thank you very much, Mei-chan." Yumi said, standing up. "You answers were very well-thought out and well expressed. You should be more confident in your language skills."

"T-thank you, Yumi-sama…" Mei said, lowering her face.

"I think that about covers the information needed for the tea party invitation." Yoshino added, standing as well. "If you still want to participate…" She trailed off, looking at Yumi for her opinion.

"You are more than welcome to." Yumi finished. Mei looked up, the widest smile Yumi had seen on her yet on her face.

"I want to!" She said, her tone a matched determined to her posture. Shimako stifled a laughed from the side of the table.

"You are very cute, Mei-chan." She said at the confused look from Mei. "I think the tea party will be very fun with you attending it." Mei stood up straight, her face still unflappable.

"T-thank you, Rose Gigantea." She stammered.

"Well, now that that is taken care of…" Sachiko said after a long moment of silence. "We do not have much work to do today, so I think we will be finishing up things early." She looked at Mei. "Mei-chan, do you have any clubs to attend?"

"N-no… Rose Chinensis. I do not… participate in any clubs. I go home after lessons."

"I see." Sachiko said, her face falling almost unnoticeably. "Then, in that case, would you like to remain here, at the Rose Mansion, until we leave? As our guest, of course." Mei seemed to consider that, her eyes shifting across the different faces into the room, until her gaze fell to Yumi. Yumi stared back at the girl, a suddenly strange feeling creeping up in the back of her mind. It wasn't as though there was anything wrong with the way Mei looked at her. In fact, the look was perfectly normal. It was the look of someone weighing their options and making a decision.

But still, somehow, Yumi felt a shiver crawl up her spine, and she twitched in her seat.

"Alright… that sounds great." Mei finally said in a decisive voice. "I would love to see what the Yamayurikai do."

"Excellent." Sachiko said with a not to Rei. "Then, as to today's business…"

0 – 0 – 0

"Well, thank you very much for your time today, Mei-chan." Yumi said as she Yoshino and Mei exited the Rose Mansion through the front door. "It was very nice meeting you." The girl bowed deeply to both Yoshino and Yumi.

"Likewise. I was confused at first. But after, I was very glad to meet everyone." She righted herself and fixed her eyes on Yumi. "Especially the boutons of Rose Chinensis and Rose Foetida. You two are really famous with the other first year students."

Yumi smiled as she walked. Of course the subject would come up. No matter how polite Mei may have been, among the first years, Yumi and Yoshino were quite infamous. She glanced at Yoshino, who shook her head and laughed.

"Famous? Is that what they call it? Last year, when we were first years, I think the word we used was 'scandalous'."

"Oh, no. Not at all, Yoshino-sama." Mei said. Yumi had the feeling the girl didn't know what 'scandalous' meant. She likely guessed the meaning through context. "Many students look up to both of you. You shouldn't think… ah… that you are doing something bad."

"Hmm…" Yoshino hummed loudly in mock contemplation. "I do believe the girl is right, Yumi-chan. They sure are raising them well this year, aren't they?" She grinned widely, her eyes sparkling. "Or maybe they just really dig that kinda thing in China."

"Haha!" Mei barked out a laugh, totally surprising Yumi. She started and blinked at the younger girl that had suddenly, for the first time since she laid eyes of her that afternoon, laughed… and laughed quite loudly at that. "You have _no_ idea, Yoshino-sama! Some don't, but _sooo many_ people do!" She said, her eyes wide and her mouth open in a wide grin. Her previously stony expression had all but disappeared, causing both Yumi and Yoshino to gape at the younger girl in surprise. Suddenly, as if realizing what she had said, Mei clamped her hands to her mouth, stifling a gasp.

"Ah hah! I knew it!" Yoshino said, pointing at Mei. "That's the real Mei-chan, isn't it?!" She hopped beside Yumi and nudged her in the side, causing Yumi to squeal lightly. "See? See? She isn't a Touko-clone! Waaa… I was worried there for a while!" Yumi snapped her head to gape at Yoshino. She had, apparently, come to the same conclusion as Yumi; that Mei and Touko had similar dispositions. Where Yumi had differed from Yoshino, however, was that she thought that personality was true.

"Mei-chan…?" Yumi asked the girl in front of her. Her dark brown eyes shifted between her and Yoshino, betraying the fact of her nervousness from the rest of her rigid body. "What you said before… about the real you…" She trailed off, seeing Mei's shoulders fall and her hands dangle at her sides.

"Who I am…" Mei said softly. "Yea. It's kind of…" She searched for the word. "Weird. And loud. I know. It's the reason I didn't make any friends yet. I am a very… uh… energe-tic person." She said, stumbling a little over the word. "I am kind of… too loud for many people her. I… tried to make some friends in my class when the semester started. Some problems happened. Now no one wants to be friends with me." She looked up and shrugged helplessly. "So when Noriko-san came to me and asked if I had time, I was really surprised."

Yumi stared at the girl for a long moment, and then looked at Yoshino. Yoshino returned her gaze and winked. She knew exactly what Yumi was thinking.

"Mei-chan… you shouldn't lose confidence in yourself just because you had some problems. Part of life is learning from problems and growing stronger. Right?"

"En…" Mei voiced, nodding slowly. She was looking back at the light gray stone that served as the pathway in front of the figure of Maria-sama.

"I think you are doing a great thing," Yumi continued. "By joining the tea party, I think that will let you meet more people, and maybe make some new friends. That will make you stronger so you can be a better, more confident person. Neh?"

"She's absolutely right, Mei-chan. Yumi's a smart girl. You can believe her." Yoshino added, leaning forward to put herself in Mei's view. "Alright? Besides, Rei-chan, Sachiko-sama, and Shimako-san all like you. Noriko-chan, as well."

"And… Yoshino and Yumi-sama, too?" Mei asked, raising her head and looking at the two girls.

"Yes, we like you too, Mei-chan. We are your friends." Yumi said, smiling at the younger girl. Mei locked eyes with Yumi for a long moment, a light blush coming back into her cheeks. The color returned almost as quickly as it had come. Mei was obviously forcing herself to control her face. "But…" Yumi said, willing her voice to sound stern. "You have to be yourself from now on. Do you understand? No more controlling your emotions too much. Laugh when you want to. Be uncomfortable when you feel uncomfortable. No more hiding behind a fake face, alright?"

Mei blinked a few times, her stony face slowly loosening into a surprised expression. "Al…alright." She said slowly. "I understand. Thank you Yumi-sama." She bowed deeply to the older girl.

"Alright, alright, Mei-chan…" Yoshino sighed. "That's enough, your embarrassing the poor girl." With a smile, Mei stood up straight. A little straighter than she had before, if Yumi perceived correctly. "The tea party will be next week. We will look forward to seeing you there. Sound good?"

"That sounds great." Mei said, nodding. "I'm excited about it." Yumi laughed a little, drawing the eyes of both girls.

"Ah… sorry." Yumi apologized, scratching the back of her head nervously. "I just think you are cute when you make small mistakes in Japanese, Mei-chan."

Turning a slight shade of pink, Mei rubbed the side of her head. She sighed softly, and ran her hand down the length of the ponytail falling down behind her head.

"Mmm… I wasn't going to say this… but because you told me to be myself and not fake…" She paused, chewing the inside of her cheek. "I lied on one of the questions."

Yumi and Yoshino exchanged looks, confused. "What question?" Yoshino asked.

"The question about who I admire." Mei said, shifting her eyes around rapidly. Yumi had already begun to associate this action with nervousness… or being uncomfortable. "I didn't lie about my mother. I really do admire her… but I admire someone else… mmm… more." She fumbled just noticeably with the comparative.

"Who do you admire most, then?" Yumi asked.

"I admire you, Yumi Fukuzawa-sama." Mei said, the blush returning to her face. "The kind of person I want as a grande soeur… is you."

0 – 0 – 0

Oooo snap. What does she mean?!

Touko will show up in the next chapter and sparks will FLY! Should be fun. Oh, and the tea party. Should be CLASSY! Muahahah!

R & R all! I love any and all reviews I get on the story! Srzly ^-^


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Do I really need to keep doing this every chapter? I don't own Maria-sama Ga Miteru. I'm just a fanboy. T.T

A/N: Hey guys and gals!

I said this chapter was gonna be the tea party, and that's half right. I got about halfway through the tea party scene when I realized I was over 6k words for this chapter. While nice... it was a bit too long for one of my usual chapters. Thusly, I opted to split the tea party scene into two parts. The beginning to the party for this chapter, and the party itself will be the next chapter. That's bad because only the start is in this chapter... but good because I have chapter 10 partially completed already. Woot!

Lez go!

**Revenge is a Dish...**

**Chapter 9**

0 – 0 – 0

"So… that Mei-chan…" Yoshino said, taking a break from sucking her Frappuccino through a bright yellow straw to speak. "She sure is a piece of work, huh?"

Yumi looked up from her iced coffee to see Yoshino's dark brown eyes gauging her carefully. Her face was unsmiling, but still warm as she looked at Yumi. Sighing softly, Yumi placed her plastic cup on the table between them and sat back in her chair.

"You could say that…" She said, casting her eyes around the café.

After hearing the altogether surprising declaration of intent of soeurship from Mei, the first year had bid both Yumi and Yoshino a polite 'gokigenyou' and left the school through the front gates. Once the initial shock passed, Yumi decided that at that moment… she really needed a coffee. After twenty minutes of walking and a short bus ride, the two girls found themselves at a popular, yet not really crowded on that particular afternoon, coffee shop frequented by students and other trendy young people. Thankfully, they weren't the only ones in a Lillian uniform so Yumi and Yoshino didn't stand out all that much.

Having given small nods of recognition to a couple other Lillian second years and a group of third years Yumi was not all that familiar with, she sat herself down and immediately started sucking up her chilled coffee. Yoshino had plopped down in the seat opposite her and, with a slightly stiff look on her face, started on her drink. That was where the pair had stayed, silently for a full five minutes, before Yoshino broke the silence.

Yoshino eyed Yumi for a few long moments over the rim of her cup as Yumi sat back in the chair, looking around the room, before placing her drink down next to her girlfriend's. "Yea…" She said. "I _am_ saying that. What exactly did she mean by that?"

Yumi sighed and shook her head. Just what _had_ Mei meant by admiring Yumi more than anyone? What did she mean, she was the kind of person Mei wanted as a grande soeur? Did she not really understand the unwritten rule that the older student initiated the relationship? _Well… _Yumi chewed her lip as she mentally corrected herself. _In most cases at least._

"Do you think she was serious?" Yumi asked quietly, still casting her eyes around random points in the restaurant. She heard Yoshino snort.

"Probably. You heard her. She said once she decides on something, she never gives up. If that's true, we may have a problem."

"Perhaps…" Yumi said, her tone thoughtful. "But is it a bad thing? She seems like a well-meaning girl… if not just a bit odd. Maybe she would make a good petite soeur." She rolled her eyes back to Yoshino, catching the girls shocked expression.

"Are you joking, Yumi-chan?" She asked, giving Yumi a hard stare. Yumi was silent for a long time, and simply returned Yoshino's gaze. Giving up, Yoshino's face lightened and she sighed. "No… you're not. Fine, fine. There's… just something about her that makes me wonder…"

"Something…?" Yumi asked, tilting her head to the side. "You seemed friendly enough with her up until she left."

"Yea, I know. She's a friendly girl. She just needs to, as you said, have more confidence in herself." Yoshino scoffed. "Although with how she told you her goal, I think she's confident enough for everyone…" Again, her face lightened. "I like her, I guess. There's… just something about her…"

Watching Yoshino as her speech trailed off, Yumi gave the idea a good musing. Of course, there was _something_ off about the girl… but she believed everyone had something wrong with them fundamentally. It was what made the world interesting and varied. And aside from Mei's language difficulty (which didn't seem to Yumi to be all that noticeable), and interesting upbringing, she seemed to be a good enough girl. And that made her worthy of consideration, in Yumi's point of view.

"I know. But, don't worry. We still have the tea party." Yumi said, smiling. Yoshino nodded and picked up her cup again, giving it a good stare.

"What about Touko-chan?" She asked after a long sip. "I haven't seen her invitation yet. You?"

"No… I haven't…" Yumi shook her head and frowned. Yoshino sighed loudly and put her cup down on the table again.

"Gah! What is _with_ that girl?" She seethed. "She was so helpful, to _both_ of us, and then just off and starts ignoring you! I just don't get her."

"You don't get Touko-chan… and Mei-chan bothers you." Yumi pointed out dryly. "Is there no girl you are satisfied with?" Yoshino raised an eyebrow, her lips twitching up into a smirk.

"I'm satisfied with you, Yumi-chan."

"You _know_ that's not what I meant, Yoshino-chan…" Yumi said, rolling her eyes tiredly. Yoshino giggled and shrugged, taking another drink.

"Yea, yea, yea. I know." Suddenly, her look turned serious. "Now, look, Yumi-chan. You _do _know you don't have to worry about me when choosing a petite soeur, right? You should choose someone you think would be a good soeur for you… _not_ whom you think I would like."

Yumi stared at Yoshino for a long moment, her own face as firm as she could make it. She knew Yoshino was serious, and knew that it would be best to return with seriousness of her own. She took another drink of slightly watered-down coffee, quite pleased that it still had ice in it, and cleared her throat.

"I understand, Yoshino-chan. Same to you. Choose someone you would like to have as a soeur."

The two girls eyed each other for a few long seconds before Yoshino broke the tension first. "But, that doesn't mean you shouldn't ask me how I feel about whoever you choose!" She said, smirking. "If you didn't even ask me, _someone_ would be in for a serious spanking. And by someone, I mean you. And by spanking, I mean spanking."

0 – 0 – 0

To make up for the absence of work to be done the previous day at the Rose Mansion, the next day had a full schedule; checking club forms, filling out material requisitions, planning for school administrative meetings… all of which didn't _need_ to be finished with on that particular day… but nevertheless, Sachiko had suggested that the sooner they get the work done, the sooner they wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. The logic seemed clean and much more approachable than doing work each day… even a little.

Therefore, do get as much done that afternoon as possible, not only did everyone have to stay later than usual, but Noriko called Touko in to assist with assorted filing. When she first heard that Touko would be coming, Yumi felt a small pang of apprehension. But it disappeared as soon as it had come. Why would she be nervous to see Touko? Touko was Touko… not some scary idea or thing that made her nervous.

Even so, when Touko arrived and barely glanced at Yumi, it sent an uncomfortable feeling into the pit of Yumi's stomach. Touko wasn't outright _ignoring_ her, as Yoshino had suggested… but it was a close thing. Touko answered her when she spoke to her, and even looked at her for moments at a time. But when Yumi full on looked back at Touko, the younger girl would avert her eyes, a frustrated and what Yumi understood was a disappointed look on her face.

First Sachiko had ignored her, then Yoshino had done the same, and now Touko was even doing it. It hurt Yumi the same each time. She hated being ignored. Especially when she had no idea what she did to deserve the coldness of being looked over.

In an attempt to lighten her mood, she entertained the idea of faking a relationship with Noriko. She had done the same with Yoshino with Sachiko and Rei were ignoring them. As Noriko was Touko's friend, it would likely bring out some sort of response. She naturally didn't really intend to do it, but the thought brought a smile to her lips. It was funny to think about, anyway.

Her mood darkened again when she took a sidelong glance at Touko sitting a few seats away, making hand copies of sentences on identical forms. The girl had her usual stony expression as she worked, her right hand flying across form after form. As she looked on, Yumi couldn't help but remember Mei. Just yesterday, the girl had been introduced to her and the rest of the Yamayurikai, and Yumi had almost immediately compared her to Touko. She had the same blank, expression, well-controlled face, and concentration.

With Mei, though, Yumi had found out the visage was fake… or, at least, fake enough. Yumi had determined that it was a sort of self-defense mechanism the girl employed to keep herself level emotionally. Was Touko the same? She knew Touko well enough, but as she thought about it, Yumi realized that she didn't really know Touko all _that _well.

As Yumi stared at Touko, wondering if the girl would not be as cold if Yumi knew more about her, a well-remembered voice cut into her ears.

"So… Touko-chan… I noticed that you haven't turned in an invitation to the tea party yet."

Yumi snapped her head around to see Yoshino looking at Touko, a half-smile on her face. Yoshino glanced minutely at Yumi, and then returned her gaze to the younger girl. Stifling the urge to panic, Yumi swallowed and slowly glanced at Touko to find her still writing on the forms, barely glancing up at Yoshino.

"That's correct, Yoshino-sama. I have not." The girl remarked. Her voice was curt, but still friendly. At least, friendly as far as Touko went. Yumi remembered her voice and tone from that day she helped Yoshino and Yumi practice being intimate. It was a far cry from how she sounded now. Distantly, Yumi wondered if the reason why she acted so coldly was because Yumi or Yoshino had done something to upset her.

"Ah… I see…" Yoshino said, folding her hands together on the table. Shimako had slowed her pacing to watch the conversation, while Noriko had stopped completely, her full attention on the exchange between Touko and Yoshino. Sachiko and Rei were watching out of veiled interest as the leafed through assorted forms. "Then… were you going to turn one in soon or…?" Yoshino trailed off, lolling her head around lazily.

"Actually, Yoshino-sama…" Touko said, still not stopping her pen. "I hadn't planned to participate in the event." Her tone used inferred that she intended the conversation to end there. Unfortunately, as Yumi well knew, Yoshino wouldn't really let it end there.

"Oh? I think it will be fun if you participate, Touko-chan." Yoshino said. "Are you sure you don't want to?"

"I'm quite sure, Yoshino-sama." Came the response. Yoshino glanced at Yumi, her eyes telling Yumi the girl's frustration, and looked back to Touko.

"May I know why?" Yoshino asked, keeping her voice noticeably cool.

"I have plans on that day after classes, Yoshino-sama." Touko said, matching the cool tone. "So, regrettably, I cannot participate as I said. My apologies."

Yumi watched Yoshino eye the younger girl for a long minute. Not once did Touko look up; she just kept writing and writing as Yoshino watched her. Finally giving up, Yoshino shrugged and threw an exasperated look at Yumi. Shaking her head and smiling, Yumi silently told Yoshino that it was fine. She didn't have to pressure Touko into anything the girl clearly didn't want to do. Even if it hurt, even if she hated being ignored, she was fine with it. Touko was Touko, after all.

At least… that's what Yumi tried to tell herself.

Slapping her pen on the table, perhaps a little too roughly, Touko stood up. "I'm finished with these forms. Sachiko-sama, is there anything else to do? If not, I have things to do before I go home." She said, squarely facing the dark-haired girl. Sachiko gaped at Touko for a moment, her eyes wide, before collecting herself.

"N-no Touko-chan, that's all we require your help with. Thank you for your help today." She said, putting a smile on her face.

"Then, if that's all, I'll be off." Touko said, bowing to each girl in the room before taking steady steps out the doorway. Everyone in the room listened as footsteps sounded from the hallway, then the stairs, then the bottom floor, then, with a final sound of a door closing, Touko was gone.

Silence filled the room for a long moment in Touko's wake. Each girl exchanged equally confused glances, all coming up equally clueless.

"I hope she's alright…" Shimako murmured out loud. Rei and Sachiko exchanged equally concerned looks and seemed to visibly sink into their seats. Yumi shot a look towards Yoshino, who shrugged, her face just as confused as the rest of the girls in the room.

"Um… I'll go and see if she's alright." Noriko said, pushing her seat back to stand up. Yumi's thoughts flashed from Yoshino, to Touko, and then to Sachiko; all of them were precious to her, and all of them she had to deal with differently. She knew that she didn't want to push Touko into talking to her… but considering the girl's stubbornness and determination, Yumi rationalized that if she didn't do anything, Touko wouldn't be likely to fix any bridges that might have burned.

Yumi wanted to find out what she did wrong. And this time, she wanted to do it herself.

"Wait, Noriko-chan!" Yumi said, standing. "I'll go and check on her." Noriko blinked, her concerned look growing more pronounced.

"Uh…" She stammered. She flicked her eyes towards the door, and back to Yumi. It was clear she wanted to go and see Touko, but with Yumi wanting to go, and no real good reason to deny the older girl, she nodded. "Alright… go ahead, Yumi-sama."

Yumi took a deep breath and walked out the door, casting a look back towards Yoshino and Sachiko. Both were smiling at her as walked past the doorway, shutting it behind her.

0 – 0 – 0

"Touko-chan! Please wait!" Yumi cried as she jogged to catch up to Touko. The first year stopped in her tracks and slowly turned, fully facing Yumi by the time she reached her. Yumi stopped in front of Touko and leaned over to catch her breath. Silently wishing she was in better shape to jog even short distances, Yumi willed herself to take slow breaths and stand up straight.

"What can I do for you, Yumi-sama?" Touko asked, her eyes cool and her face stony. Yumi ignored the unpleasant feeling she got from the girl and exhaled slowly, taking another deep breath.

"Touko-chan… did I do something to upset you?" Yumi asked softly, but still keeping her eyes firmly on Touko.

"Of course not, Yumi-sama, why would you think that?"

Yumi stared at Touko for a long moment, trying unsuccessfully to read the girl's face. After looking at Mei's face the previous day for all of ten or fifteen minutes, Yumi was able to tell what the girl had been more or less feeling. Never before had Yumi been so empathetic towards another person. It had even taken Yumi the better part of a month or so to get a feel for all of Yoshino's physical nuances and what they meant. She knew that just being able to tell a little bit of Mei's feelings didn't mean a lot… but it still frustrated Yumi that she couldn't understand Touko's in the slightest.

"It's just…" She said, her tone reasoning. "I get the feeling that you have been avoiding me for a while now. You were very friendly and helpful before… like when you helped Yoshino-chan and I…" She could feel her cheeks warm. Only now did she suddenly realize that Touko had seen her and Yoshino kiss each other, touch each other, and even take off an embarrassing amount of each other's clothes. The thought made her somewhat embarrassed to be in front of Touko. But she wouldn't let it deter her now. "But ever since then… you have been distant. I don't know why…"

"I don't believe I have been distant, Yumi-sama. I think I have been normal. I fulfilled what was asked of me by you and Yoshino-sama, and considering nothing more was asked of me, I returned to my normal routine." Touko said all that in her usual chilly tone, and only blinking once during. Yumi opened her mouth to argue the point, but shut it again. Objectively, the girl was correct. After that one time, Yumi and Yoshino hadn't really asked anything else of Touko.

And after that, Touko had suddenly become noticeably cooler to her.

Then, like a flash, it occurred to Yumi. All at once, it made sense. The reason why Touko had been friendly when asked to help with Yoshino and Yumi's performance… her enthusiasm when asked and during the act itself… and then, her noticeable difference in attitude towards Yumi and Yoshino after. It struck Yumi like a bolt of lightning that cleared her entire head of any confusion at all.

Touko had felt left out. Left out and ignored. Just like Yumi felt when her Onee-sama ignored her. Just like when Yoshino ignored her. It was the same.

And Yumi had done that to her. Without even realizing it, Yumi had ignored Touko.

It wasn't quite the same as Yumi had suffered through; Yumi still had talked to Touko, still looked at her and offered her tea and cookies when she was in the Rose Mansion. But, after including the girl in something as intimate as what they had done, even if she was only the teacher and observer, Touko deserved better than to be just treated normally as classmates. She deserved to be treated as a good friend.

Or a sister.

"Touko-chan…" Yumi said softly, her voice giving away just a little of her unease.

"If that is all, I have to go Yumi-sama." Touko said, leveling her eyes at Yumi again. She stared at Yumi for a long moment and, sure the older girl was not going to say anything else, she bowed her head. "Then… gokigenyou." With that, she spun on her heel and walked away.

Yumi stared after the girl for a long time, well after she had disappeared from view. Her mind was abuzz with different thoughts and feelings, all of which she had no way of sorting out understandably. Touko… Yoshino… Sachiko… Mei… everything was flying around her head like a handful of feathers in a gust of hot wind that she couldn't grasp.

Yumi knew what she had done. She knew what mistake she had made. But with all the confusion whirling around in her head, she couldn't quite see how to fix it.

0 – 0 – 0

Yumi sat at the end of the large table in the second floor meeting room of the Rose Mansion, right beside Yoshino, being gazed at by about thirty different pairs of eyes of first and second year girls. Today was to be the day the Yamayurikai… well… Yumi and Yoshino… had their Soeur Tea Party. In the end, over thirty girls had decided to come. Unfortunately, that also meant that a lot of work had to be done so that everyone could fit into the second floor meeting room.

After a little deliberation, both she and Yoshino decided that having half the girls in the top floor and the other half of the participants in the first floor was a bit too divided. With the right furniture and seating arrangement, the second floor room should be adequate enough. After introducing themselves and kicking off the top floors event, the participants would be free to move throughout the Rose Mansion, thus opening up more room to move around.

Looking over the gaggle of students in the room, Yumi could pick out a few faces she could recognize. However, only a couple of names could be put to faces. On the side of the room she spied Shimako and Noriko, who had opted to act as facilitators, a nice way to say waitresses, for the event. They both wore cute matching aprons over their uniforms. At a loss, she cast a sidelong look at Yoshino. The girl returned her gaze and nodded her understanding.

"Alright!" She said, standing up. "Welcome, everyone, to our Soeur Tea Party!" Her voice was clear and crisp. Vastly different, Yumi noted, that what she could probably muster amidst the large group gathered before her.

"I want to thank you all for coming today." Yoshino continued. "This party is full of those of you who want to find a younger sister… or an older sister… and have yet to find the perfect one. We have thusly provided you this party as a means to open up encounters and conversations. Under usual circumstances, everyone doesn't have a lot of time in which to really connect with one another. I want everyone to be able to become better friends with others." She lowered her head in a slight bow. At once, every girl in the room started clapping lightly. Yumi blinked in shock at Yoshino, completely and utterly surprised by the girl's speech.

_Had she practiced that?!_

"Well then… let's start with some introductions." Yoshino scanned the room slowly, her dark eyes not missing anything. "I am Yoshino Shimazu, second year. Last year, somewhere around this time, I was having heart surgery. Since then, I have changed my image and outlook on life drastically. I love sports competitions, and books by the author Shoutarou Ikenami." She stopped, as if thinking. "Oh yea… I want to find a petite soeur as soon as possible." After taking another breath, she bowed again, and gently poked Yumi in the side with her elbow, emitting a light squeal from her. The group of girls giggled at the display. Yoshino sat down, clearly hiding a smirk.

Sporting a light blush now, Yumi cleared her throat. She took a short look around the room to find everyone practically holding their breath as she readied herself. "Um… I am Yumi Fukuzawa from second year... I'm not really excellent in any subject… but I'm also not weak in any subject… that average balance, I think is my strength. I… um… I am also Rosa Chinensis en bouton."She mumbled, thrown off by Yoshino's prod. She shrugged and let out a quiet laugh. The rest of the girls all clapped and, most of the younger-looking ones, gazed at her with wide, awe-struck eyes.

As the girl beside Yumi stood up to introduce herself, Yumi looked around to find Mei in the crowd. It didn't take long; the girl sat near the far end of the table, quite far away from Yumi. Actually, Yumi was surprised to even pick her out in the crowd. Her long ponytail from the previous time they saw each other was gone. Instead of a ponytail, her hair was bunched up into twin Chinese buns on either side of her head. The look was good, and actually gave the girl a somewhat cuter image than before. Yumi found herself idly wondering if Mei changed her hairstyle specifically for the tea party. After finding her, Yumi stared at the girl for a few moments until Mei rolled her eyes to look at Yumi.

Yumi gave a small smile and tilted her head in a welcoming gesture… or… at least what she thought was a welcoming gesture. She hoped Mei would be able to decipher it. Luckily, from the small smile the girl gave her in return, she seemed to get the message.

Yumi returned her attention back to a girl currently introducing herself as Kokoro Uego, first year peach class. She brushed her dark wavy hair back and declared, without preamble, that she admired the Yamayurikai and wanted to be a part of them as long as she had been at Lillian Academy for Women. Feeling Yoshino stiffen beside her, Yumi found herself hoping that there were not more girls like her in the party.

Soon, it was Mei's turn to introduce herself. She stood up from her chair, her face was tight and controlled, though her eyes flashed around the room restlessly. Yumi sighed inwardly; though there wasn't much she could do about the girl's nervousness at this point. She distantly noted that a small handful of first year girls eyed Mei with a vaguely disdainful look.

"Mmm… My name is Mei Chen… first year… peach class." Mei said quietly, though loud enough for Yumi to hear at the other end of the room. "I uh…. I like music… and… well…" She looked around, apparently thinking of something else to add. "I want… to make some friends." She finally said. Giving a small bow of her head, she sat down slowly in her seat. As she sat down, Yumi thought she heard a soft laugh, or something that sounded like a loud breath of air, from another area in the room. Yumi listened to see if it happened again, but it didn't.

Soon, all the girls in the room had given a short introduction. With a final welcome from both Yumi and Yoshino, the tea party began.

0 – 0 – 0

A/N: Alright. Ill come out with it.

Touko is one of my favorite characters. I HATED her when she first made her appearance... but making my way through the anime and light novels... now shes my favorite character. Its kinda why I decided to go this way with her. Poor Touko T.T She just wants to be loooooved!

So you might be thinking... *Web, if you like Touko, then why put an OC in here?* To that I answer, *Cuz I wants Yumi to chooooose! Muahahaha! And not just choose between soeurs. That's all I'll say as not to spoil anything*

Its gonna be awesome.

See you on the next chap!

R & R if you like the story! Your reviews just make the story better! (really) Peace!


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